


The Wheel of Knives

by RavenCaziel



Category: Knives Out (2019)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, F/M, Murder Mystery, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:47:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 135,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25564588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenCaziel/pseuds/RavenCaziel
Summary: Julia Drysdale, a successful romance novelist, is the older twin sister of Ransom Drysdale. She attends her grandfather's birthday party to which Harlan, the grandfather, ends up dead apparently by suicide. A week later, Julia meets the detective that was hired by a mysterious, anonymous person to solve Harlan's case, initially ruling it to be of foul play.
Relationships: Benoit Blanc (Knives Out)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 69





	1. Happy Birthday!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so...this is the first time I'm making a fanfic off a movie. I've seen this film twice now and since there are very few Benoit pairings that I've found, I'm going to do one. I don't know why there are so many Ransom pairings considering, you know, how he is, but Daniel Craig with that southern accent, oh my God!Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this fic. And don't worry, I still have plans to finish the other two. "Out Of Time" should be done within the next couple of chapters...maybe...and "When We Were Younger" will soon be updated.
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos in advance!
> 
> Oh, and I don't own any of the characters of Knives Out, nor the content. A lot of it is dialogue from the movie itself.

Julia Drysdale was watching from afar as the birthday cake was lowered in front of her grandfather Harlan Thrombey, a well renowned fiction writer. it literally had eighty-five lit candles on it to signify Harlan's age. Julia was surprised at how much youth the man possessed despite his age.

She took another sip of her champagne, watching her grandfather blow out the candles. The smokiness drifted upwards almost like a fog with dense streams of smoke and the smell of it hit Julia's nostrils. It wasn't an unpleasant smell but it still made Julia wave a hand in front of her face.

As the cake was being cut, Julia walked over and wrapped her arms around Harlan's shoulders from behind, the scent of expensive cologne invading Julia's sense of smell. It was a good smell.

"Happy birthday, Granddad. How does it feel to be eight five years young?" she asked softly.

Julia felt a deep rumble in her grandfather and a chuckle emitted from his throat. "I like it," he replied. "Eighty five years young. I'll have to remember that."

Julia let go and straightened up to grab a slice of cake. "Oooh, buttercream," she said in delight as she forked a piece into her mouth.

"I really wish you would've chosen whipped, Dad," Julia's mother Linda scolded. "Buttercream has so much sugar."

Harlan grumbled. "Now now, Linda. It's my birthday and I wanted buttercream. You can't deny an old man what he wants on his birthday."

Julia giggled as she took another bite of cake. "It's true. His mind was made up."

Linda gave her daughter a dirty but playful look. "And you encouraged it, I'm assuming."

Julia feigned an innocent expression. "I haven't the slightest idea what you mean, Mother."

It was true, though. Julia had, in fact, swayed her grandfather into getting buttercream. It was his favorite type of icing anyway, but Julia had suggested it to piss her family off and because it was her grandfather's favorite type of frosting. It was all in good fun, of course, and Harlan knew what she had on her mind but he found it to be amusing the way she defied her family at every turn anyway. Julia was a free spirit and almost never did as she was told, which wasn't unlike her twin Ransom.

Of course, that was the only trait the twins shared. While Julia had a good heart and was considerably nice (unless provoked, then she had her mother's fiery temper), Ransom took every chance to be a total dick. He treated "the help" worse, forcing them all to address him as Hugh, which was his first name.

Julia spotted Ransom sulking in a chair with his arms crossed. She knew he hated family functions like this. Julia wasn't exactly fond of them either but she was willing to bear it. It was her grandfather's birthday, after all. After finishing her cake, Julia grabbed another plate and ambled over to her displeased younger brother.

"Cake?" she asked, wafting the plate in front of his face.

His brow furrowed and he scoffed, looking away from her. "You know I hate buttercream."

Julia tsked. "Aww, what's wrong with my baby brother?" she teased.

Ransom stiffened at the insult. "You're only a few minutes older than me, Julia."

"That still makes you the baby, which is exactly how you're acting right now."

Ransom glared up at her, looking extremely annoyed for a moment before giving her a fake smile. "Fuck you, Julia."

Julia's jaw dropped as she pressed her palm to her chest. "Oh, such vulgar language!" she cried in dramatic outrage. "Surely, you'll give me the vapors, dear brother of mine!"

Ransom raised a brow, this time his lips quirking into a smirk. "Shut up," he mumbled.

"Oh come on," Julia groaned before plopping into the seat next to him. "At least pretend you're having a good time."

"What for?" Ransom asked dryly.

"Fake it until you make it," Julia replied. "Who knows? You might just enjoy yourself."

Ransom turned to his sister. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"A little bit. Mom hates that we got buttercream."

"So do I," Ransom said with a low growl.

"I know," Julia said with a sly smile. "That's why we picked it."

Ransom suddenly burst into laughter. "You're such a bitch."

"And you're an asshole," she said with a cheeky grin. "But we still make quite the pair."

Ransom sighed, looking over at the plate of cake that she was still holding. "Fine. Gimme the cake." Julia beamed, knowing she'd won the battle with her stubborn brother. She handed him the plate and he forked a small piece before eating it, making a disgusted grimace. "Fuck, I hate buttercream."

Julia giggled with satisfaction. "Just take the buttercream off."

She watched him fiddle with the icing, scraping the white frosting off the cake and onto his plate before getting up, finishing off her champagne and walking to the living room to join the others. She reached for another glass of champagne and took a sip, barely registering the conversations going on around her. The only one who wasn't partaking in the festivities of "civilized conversation", that is besides the staff and Ransom, was Marta.

The poor girl was all by herself, leaning against the living room entrance and staring blankly out at the family. Julia decided to strike up some words and walked over to her.

"Hey there, Marta. Did you have some cake?" Julia asked.

"No, technically I'm working," Marta said with an exasperated sigh.

This made Julia frown. "Oh nonsense. Come on, let's go get you some cake."

The two women walked away from the living room and Julia cut up a slice before placing it carefully on a plate. "Julia, I really shouldn't..."

Julia's brow furrowed sadly before she picked up a fork, put it on the plate and put it in front of Marta. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you won't."

Marta made a shy smile at that and gently grabbed the plate. "Well, I do like buttercream," she said quietly.

"Well thank God!" Julia laughed. "It's nice to know that Granddad and I aren't the only ones who like the frosting!"

Marta giggled with a smile before taking a bite of the cake. Her eyes closed as she licked her lips. "Oh, it's so delicious."

Julia wobbled her head as her eyes widened. "I know, right? Honestly, people don't know what they're talking about."

Julia smiled and crossed her arms, watching Marta enjoy each bite of her piece of cake. She kind of felt bad for Marta, knowing that her mother was an undocumented immigrant and that they basically lived in a real shitty apartment complex. Well, at least it was shitty compared to how Julia lived. While she had lived a life of luxury, she amassed her own small fortune the same way her grandfather did: by writing books. Granted, hers genre was romance and he wrote mystery novels, but they were both successful writers nonetheless. In fact, Julia was so successful (though not as much as her grandfather) that she told Harlan not to include her in his will. She was a self made woman and she didn't need the money. She had plenty of her own.

"Marta?" Julia asked, drawing herself back to the present.

Marta licked her lips again as she took one last bite of cake. "Yes Julia?"

Julia quirked the side of her mouth up apprehensively. "You know, if you ever need money, Granddad or I can help you out. You know that, right?"

Julia noticed how hard Marta swallowed. "Um, yes. But I'm fine, really."

This made Julia pout. "Well, the offer will always stand. You're family."

Marta gave Julia a shy smile. "I appreciate that, thank you."

"I mean it. I know the others say it, but I really mean it. Granddad considers you family, too." Marta shifted uncomfortably and Julia frowned. "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad just now."

"No, you didn't. I just..." Marta sighed. "I just get flattered when it's said."

Julia chuckled. "Well, I can't tell you how to feel about it. Come on, let's get back to the living room before anyone suspects you had cake."

Marta smiled and they bounded back towards the living room just as Ransom and Harlan were leaving the room. Well, that was odd. Julia's eyes followed the two and they both went into Harlan's study.

"Oh God, yeah!" Joni shouted with a dry scoff. "I mean, don't like him because you looove him!"

"No, I don't like him" Richard, Julia's dad argued. "He's an asshole. But maybe an asshole is what we needed!"

"Ah shit, here we go," Julia said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, my God, yeah, an asshole is what Germany needed in 19...30...whatever," Joni argued back, sipping on her champagne.

"Here we go," Richard said. "Come on, Joni! Those two things don't even conflate!"

Julia clicked her tongue as Fran approached both her and Marta. "Oh, Jesus," Fran chuckled dryly. "I'm gonna disappear until the politics talk is done. You want some chambers?" Fran asked Marta.

Marta briefly looked at the tray Fran was holding before turning her attention back to the argument in the living room. "I can't. I'm technically working."

Fran walked away with a shrug and Julia shook her head as her Aunt Joni and father argued more on politics. Donna suddenly interjected, arguing with Joni about how the country was losing its way of life. Then she brought up Mexicans and Julia could tell Marta had tensed up. Oh boy.

"They're putting children in cages! I mean, they're in camps!" Joni said in outrage.

"Come on, Joni. Nobody's saying that isn't bad, but the parents have some blame here," Richard pointed out.

Marta tensed up even more and Julia felt the urge to wrap an arm around her. Julia had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

"Where's Marta?" Richard said as he stood up. "Is she still here?"

Marta turned to leave but Richard spotted her and Marta turned back around. "Marta!"

Linda sighed. "Oh, God, don't."

Richard kept gesturing for Marta to come over with a smile but Linda and Joni began arguing against it, saying to leave the poor girl alone. But Marta smiled shyly and did as she was told, standing in front of the fireplace with her hands behind her back. Julia joined her side immediately.

"Dad, don't bring Marta into this," Julia scolded.

Richard ignored her and looked up at Marta. "Marta, your family is from Uruguay, but you did it right. I mean, what I'm saying is," Richard turned to Joni, "they did it legally. She did it the right way."

Julia shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Her dad continued on and on about how Marta's family worked hard and will earn their share from the ground up, just like the family. Julia had never wanted to punch her father in the face to shut him up, but she sure as shit wanted to now.

"Just leave the poor girl alone, Richard," Linda said, obviously getting tired of Richard's political ranting about illegal immigration.

"It's okay, I just wanna hear what she has to say!"

Julia had enough. "No, it's not okay!" she yelled. Everyone suddenly went quiet. "Dad, this is not okay! You're making Marta feel uncomfortable and you need to stop right now!"

Richard laughed. "I'm not making her feel uncomfortable. Marta," Richard said, leaning forward in his seat. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Oh sweetheart, don't feel pressured to answer," Joni pleaded while shaking her hands. "This is just a..."

"Look," Richard interrupted, haphazardly handing Marta his empty plate but Julia took it before Marta could. "If you want to become an American-"

"Dad! Shut the hell up!" Julia's voice bellowed. Once again, everyone went quiet. "Marta doesn't need to hear this shit!"

Richard suddenly stood up, glaring at his daughter. "Julia, don't you talk that way to me!"

"I'll talk however I want, Dad! And just for your information, her family is from Cuba!"

"Are you goddamn insane?"

Julia heard her brother's muffled voice from the study and everyone turned toward the sound. More muffled yelling came from the study and soon Julia heard a door open, footsteps pounding on the floor before a door slammed shut. Julia immediately set the plate down and left the living room to go to her grandfather's study.

"What the hell was that about?" Julia asked when she noticed Harlan's deep set frown. "Is everything okay?"

Harlan looked at Julia and his frown instantly disappeared. "Ah, Julia. Come in. And everything's fine."

Julia huffed before shutting the door and walking to the chair in front of Harlan's desk. She sat down and crossed her legs, leaning back in the chair. "So? What was that all about?"

Harlan sighed. "I just told Ransom that I'm cutting him from the will," he replied.

Julia sat up straight, looking at her grandfather in shock. "You're shitting me. You actually did it?"

"I, most certainly, am not shitting you that I did it."

She snorted in amusement and leaned forward, laughing loudly. "Well serves him right."

"This is no laughing matter, Julia," Harlan said with a grumpy tone. "I take this situation very seriously, as with the others I cut off. Richard, Walt, Joni...no more money will be going to them."

Julia stopped laughing and cleared her throat. "Sorry, Granddad."

She said that but Julia was still laughing on the inside. This was exactly what Ransom deserved; needed, even. Perhaps this would help her baby brother finally grow up. She loved her brother but he was still an asshole and they had a very precarious relationship. As for the rest of the family, the only one she really felt bad for was Meg.

"Are you going to tell anyone else?" Julia asked lightly.

"No, just you and Marta," Harlan said with a broad, trusting smile. "I trust you won't say a word to the others?"

Julia "zipped" her mouth shut. "My lips are sealed." She slapped her hands on her thighs and puffed out some air. "So, are we still on for Go tonight with Marta?"

"Of course we are," Harlan said. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"I don't know. I just figured you were getting too old for that now," Julia mocked teasingly.

This made Harlan laugh. "What happened to "eighty five years young"?"

Julia laughed as well and stood up. "Well, we really should get back to the party. Or at least I should. Poor Marta...Dad was getting on her about immigrants coming here illegally and what have you."

"Oh boy," Harlan said sadly. "I hope she wasn't uncomfortable."

"Oh she was, but I told Dad to shut up. I'm hoping he kept his mouth shut."

Harlan stood up with a chuckle. "Always the defiant one, aren't you?"

"Of course," Julia chimed in happily. "Would I be me without that wonderful trait?"

Harlan came to Julia and kissed her cheek. "No, you wouldn't. And I wouldn't have you any other way, my dear."

Harlan and Julia left the study and went back to the living room. Richard and Joni were still discussing politics but thank God it was no longer about immigration. Julia shook her head, realizing how oblivious these people were about what had transpired between Ransom and Granddad in the study.

The night went on without a hitch, and soon Marta was ushering Harlan up the stairs to his room. However, instead of going to his bedroom, he went up to another set of stairs while lazily singing, "up, up, up, I got it", over and over again.

"Okay, that's..." Marta stopped when she realized where Harlan was going. "Hey, Harlan...let's..."

"Up, up, up, I got it. Up, up, up, I got it," Harlan continued.

Julia softly crossed her arms and gave Marta a knowing look. "You know his mind is made up. He wants to play Go with his two favorite people."

Marta rolled her eyes and went to the bedroom for her medical bag. She came back out with an exasperated look on her face before climbing the stairs after Harlan.

"No second thoughts," Harlan said, preparing the board with the pebbles.

"No. No, no, no, no," Marta argued as Julia followed her up the stairs.

Marta continued arguing while Harlan refused to hear her, demanding that Go be played on his eighty fifth birthday because they were not breaking tradition.

"Can you just take your goddamn medicine and go to bed?" Marta said with annoyance in her voice.

Harlan stopped messing with the bag of pebbles and looked Marta in the eye. "If you're gonna put that vile shit in me," he said, pointing at her, "you have to earn it." He went back to messing with the pebbles. "On my birthday."

Julia snorted with laughter and Marta looked at Harlan in disbelief. "Fine," she said, holding up a hand and walking to the little table before sitting on a black chair. "Jesus!"

"I'm so old," Harlan mocked, crinkling up his fingers and face to make himself look like what Julia thought was his impression of the Crypt Keeper. He made little "hee haw hoo hoo" noises and this made Julia giggle into her hand.

"You really love drama, huh?" Marta said with vexation.

Julia pulled up a red chair and sat across from Marta. "Oh, Marta," he said.

Marta picked up her bag of pebbles. "Okay, let's do this. Nine-by-nine."

"Alright."

"You ready?" Marta asked expectantly.

"I'll whip your ass."

Julia burst out laughing. "Are you sure?" Marta said, smiling and giggling briefly.

"Yeah, yeah," Harlan said with a chuckle.

"How dare you," Marta said, placing down the first pebble on the board.

Julia watched the two banter away as black and white pebbles littered the wooden board, the clacking of the pebbles touching the board filling the room. It was amusing when they both talked shit.

"Why can't I beat you at this game?" Harlan asked as if he knew he was defeated already.

_Clack clack clack._

"Because I'm not playing to beat you. I'm playing to build a beautiful pattern," Marta replied, not once taking her eyes off the board.

_Clack clack clack._

"That's elder abuse. I'm gonna call the AARP."

_Clack_ _clack clack._

"Don't make me get the belt, abuelo."

Julia was suddenly hit with inspiration and took out her small pocketbook to write in it. "I need to write this down," she said abruptly.

As she was writing, the board started shaking and before she knew it, the pebbles and board went flying onto the floor with clackety clacks and a thump. Harlan started laughing and clapped his hands, and Marta tossed her bag down with frustration.

"Such a bad loser, you are!" Marta exclaimed. "Meds, then bed!"

"Wait, don't I get to play?" Julia asked with a pout.

Marta leaned down to pick up the medicinal vials that also fell to the floor. "I'm done with you," she said to Harlan.

"That's fair," Harlan said, giggling as he started unbuttoning his sleeve to roll it up. "Julia, be a dear and pick up the board so you and I can play."

Julia huffed while putting her pocketbook away and got on the floor to pick up the board and all the pieces.

"Oof, Walt is smoking that filthy cigar out there on the porch. Dead and nasty things," Harlan said.

Julia was still picking up the pieces, occasionally glancing up as the two talked and Marta was giving Harlan his meds. Most of her attention was focused on picking up the pebbles, having to crawl around on her hands and knees to find more pebbles in various places.

"I know you weren't looking forward to it," Marta said.

"No, but I did it," Harlan said back. "I cut the line on all four of 'em. Wasn't easy. Mmm, this goddamn fortune. You know, sometimes I think that everything I've given my family, I've done, maybe, without knowing, or maybe to keep them beneath me."

Julia sat up suddenly and narrowed her eyes. "That is not true, Granddad. You're just too generous for your own good."

Harlan chuckled. "Well, I certainly should have," Harlan paused to sigh, "I don't know, encouraged Walt to write his own stories, not just be a...a caretaker of mine." Harlan nodded to Marta. "Like you said I should. And then be a father and not just a provider for Joni, like you also said. And I could have been kinder to Linda and Ransom..." he sighed once more. "Jesus! Ransom," Harlan said, placing his palm to his forehead. "There's so much of me in that kid."

"No there isn't!" Julia interrupted. "Ransom is a spoiled, fornicating playboy asshole who has never worked a single day in his life. You, Granddad, are nothing like him."

Harlan chuckled at Julia. "Confident, stupid. I dunno, protected. Playing life like a game, without consequence," he continued, pulling out a knife. "Until you can't tell the difference between a stage prop and a real knife." Harlan stabbed the table with it and sighed.

"Well, he certainly doesn't use those traits in a good way. Not like you do," Julia said, getting back on her knees to find more pebbles.

"I don't fear death, but you know, I'd like to fix some of this before I go. Close the book with a flourish. I guess we'll see, hmm?"

Marta agreed. "Hey, you had a long day." She picked up one of the medicine vials and shook it with a smile. "You wanna do drugs?"

Julia laughed as she scoured the rest of the room for loose pebbles. Their conversation drifted out of focus as Julia kept looking for more pebbles. She finally found theast of them and put them on the table.

"Aha! Got them!" Julia said with a grin, but it slowly faded when she saw the horrified look on Marta's face. "Marta? What's wrong?"

"Is there a problem?" Harlan asked casually.

Marta looked at them both with the vials in her hands. "This is what I just gave you 100 milligrams of," she said. "I messed up."

Julia peeked over to see that it was morphine and she gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh my God!"

This was definitely not good. Julia wasn't a nurse but she knew enough that what Marta just did was give her Granddad a lethal dosage of morphine. Marta scrambled over to her medicine bag and started searching for something. The two were still conversing but Julia wasn't hearing any of it. She could see Harlan's mouth moving but not a sound was being made. Was this a nightmare? It had to be.

"...an emergency shot of Naloxone, so you don't die in ten minutes," Marta said.

"Oh, well, no pressure," Harlan said.

Julia went back to her senses. "Oh thank God you have that," she said, standing to her feet and walking to the bag. "Here, let me help you look."

The two dug into the bag, looking for the antidote. "You know, this is an interesting and efficient method of murder. I need to write this down."

Julia felt tears filling her eyes. "What's it called again? Naxolone?" Julia asked with a frog in her throat.

"That's right," Marta replied, starting to panic.

"So, if someone switched the meds on purpose, I'd be dead in ten minutes. Like stone cold dead?" Harlan asked politely.

"Yes. You'll feel symptoms in five. Sweats, disorientation, and then...yes. That big dose injected, within ten, your...your brain..." Marta began breathing heavily.

Julia kept looking in the bag. "Marta, I can't find it."

Marta took the bag and emptied it on the floor. "Ten minutes from injection. Well, it's eight-ish now. And even if the victim called for an ambulance..."

Harlan kept going on while Marta and Julia kept looking around for the Naxolone. It wasn't there, but it had to be. It just _had to be._ Marta began crying and this made Julia start to cry.

"Marta? Do you have the Naxostuff?" Harlan asked.

"Yes, I'm gonna find it," Marta sobbed. "I have it because it comes with the kit, so it should be here. It has to be. It's like..." Marta began sobbing more and Julia looked around one last time.

The Naxolone wasn't there.

"It's not here. I don't know why it's not here," Marta sniffled. "So I'm gonna use the phone, okay?"

Julia stayed on her knees and looked at Harlan as Marya got up. Their eyes met and Julia knew exactly what was going to happen. She knew the ambulance wasn't going to get there in time.

Her grandfather, Harlan Thrombey, was going to die.


	2. The Detective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how are you liking the story so far? Thanks for the kudos and comments!

When Marta went to pick up the phone and dialed 911, Julia watched in horror as her grandfather reached over and leisurely pressed his finger on the hang up knobs like it was the most casual thing in the world to do.

"Granddad..." she uttered in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

With a solemn expression, Harlan looked at the both of them. "Marta, Julia, listen to me."

"Harlan, I need to call an ambulance," Marta pleaded, still clutching the phone in her hands.

"Stop this, stop this, Marta!" Harlan demanded.

"They need to-"

"There's no time!"

Julia stood up slowly, wondering what the hell her grandfather was doing. "Grandpa...please let-"

"There's not time! You have to listen!" Harlan demanded, his voice growing louder as he struggled to take the phone from Marta.

"I'm calling the family!" Marta sobbed. She went to run but Harlan tripped her. Marta fell to the ground with a loud thud and she turned to look at him with shock in her teary eyes. "What are you doing?"

Harlan walked to her with a sad but determined look, grasping her arms as she got up. The two of them continued to argue but Julia was frozen where she was standing.

"Grandpa, you need to-"

Marta was still pleading with Harlan but he covered her mouth. "Listen to me. Now, if what you said is true, I'm gone. There's no saving me," Harlan said barely above a whisper.

Marta shook her head. "No, no."

"We have six minutes."

"No, I can't...wait, no."

Julia walked over to the two. "Granddad, think about what the hell you're doing."

"I know what I'm doing, Julia, now we have got to get you both out of this!" Harlan hissed. "Think of your mom, Marta."

"...My mom?" Marta said shakily.

There was a knock on the door and the three looked at it. Marta gasped and Harlan moved towards the door. "Marta, Julia, get behind me. Don't make a noise."

Another knock and Julia and Marta turned their backs to Harlan as he went to open the door. This was insane. Absolutely insane. What the hell was her grandfather thinking? Why was he doing this?

"Harlan? Marta? Julia?" Joni said behind the door.

Julia heard the door creep open and Harlan began talking to Joni, but all Julia could do was look over at Marta. Her eyes were darting back and forth, obviously suppressing the need to cry out loud. Julia felt the exact same way but she kept her back turned. Once Julia heard the door shut, she turned around and stared at her grandfather.

"Come on," Harlan said, grasping both their hands. "Pay attention, now. Your mom, Marta, is still undocumented. And if this is your fault, she'll be found out and at best deported and your family will be broken. We're not gonna let that happen, are we, huh? But you have to do exactly what I tell you. Both of you. Will you do this, Marta? Julia?" Marta breathed in deeply and shook her head slowly. "This last thing? For me? For your family?"

Julia wiped the tears off her cheeks. This was all so horrible but she knew Granddad had a plan in mind.

"What do you want us to do?" Julia asked after calming down.

* * *

_One week later..._

Julia was at home, sipping on her morning coffee when she got the call from Meg Thrombey. Apparently there were police at the house and they had a few more questions to ask. Oh. Great. After changing into a black turtleneck and blue jeans and putting her brown wavy hair up in a ponytail, Julia got into her 1970 black Chevy Nova and left her home, driving down the road with her fingers gripping the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white.

Her hands were like that the whole way to Harlan's mansion and as Julia pulled up onto the gravel driveway, she had to hold back her tears. The house would never be the same again, not with her grandfather gone. As she parked and got out of the car, she was met by Meg, Joni's daughter. She was smoking her Juul when they both closed the gap to each other.

"Julia," Meg said. "Thanks for coming."

Julia gave the girl a sober hug. "You're welcome."

"The police are just inside interviewing everyone."

Julia looked around and noticed Marta's car was already here. Oh shit. Marta and her hadn't spoken since the night of Harlan's death. It felt odd, but Julia supposed it was understandable.

 _"Yeah, being an accomplice to manslaughter will do that,"_ she thought to herself as she walked up the steps.

When she got to the hallway, Julia saw Marta sitting on a bench, her leg bouncing a thousand miles a minute. Marta noticed her and frowned before standing up. The two walked to each other and hugged tightly, both sniffling and crying.

"I'm sorry I haven't called," Marta said.

"Me too," Julia answered softly. "How are you holding up?"

They pulled away and Marta wiped her own tears away. "Not very good, you?"

"Same."

Julia suddenly heard noises outside on the back porch and they both immediately looked at the window to see three men's faces for a brief moment. Marta went to the window and crouched down.

"What are you doing?" Julia hissed.

"Shh!" Marta shushed her and Julia threw up her hands with a scoff, turning her back to Marta.

This was so insane.

Marta gasped and Julia turned just in time to see the porch door open. There stood a man in a gray overcoat, looking to be in his forties with blonde, graying hair, a cigar in hand and the most brilliant blue eyes Julia had ever seen in her life. This man was _handsome._

"Harlan Thrombey's nurse," he said in a deep southern accent. Just when Julia thought the man couldn't get more attractive... "Marta..."

"Cabrera," Marta finished for him.

"Marta Cabrera," the man said. "Please." The man looked past Marta to spot Julia for a moment before doing a double take. "And you must be Julia Drysdale?" he spoke with a warm smile.

Julia crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes," she replied.

"Would you care to step outside with us for a moment, Miss Drysdale?" the attractive man asked.

Julia nodded nervously before walking towards him. As she walked by him, her nose caught a whiff of his cologne and it took all her willpower to not roll her eyes into the back of her head from pleasure. He smelled so good. God, what was she doing?

 _"Keep your shit together, Julia,"_ she thought to herself. The man shut the door and looked at the both of them with a smile.

"I've been doin' a little pokin'," he said, looking down at their shoes before looking up again at Marta. "You were hired on a part-time basis as a registered nurse, yes?"

"Uh, yes. I don't work for a VNA," Marta replied. "Harlan hired me directly."

"Mmhmm. And you," the man continued, turning his blue eyed gaze on Julia," are the romance writer, correct?"

"Yes," Julia said, tucking a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear. "That would be me."

"Hmm. Both of you take a seat, please," he said. Both the girls did. "And you're paid a flat rate for..." the man sat down across from the two, "how many hours a week?"

"Um," Marta began, "well, I started at fifteen, and then he...he needed more help."

"Medical help?"

Marta looked down for a moment before looking back up. "He needed a friend."

The man shifted in his seat a bit. "Does havin' a kind heart make you a good nurse?"

Julia's face scrunched up. "What the hell kind of question is that?" Julia asked.

The man with the piercing blue eyes looked at Julia and smirked. "You know, I hear tell that out of all the grandchildren, you, Miss Drysdale, were Harlan's favorite."

Julia blinked madly at the man. What the hell was the deal with this guy? The two cops behind him fidgeted and one of them crossed the porch.

"Alright, Blanc," the one cop said.

Blanc continued. "I mean...Marta," he said, directing his attention back to Marta with a clearing of his throat. "We were just discussing possible motives in the family. I suspect that Harlan has told, well, possibly the both of you, much unfiltered truth about each of 'em. And a little bird has told me, how shall I put this delicately...you, Marta, have a regurgitative reaction to mistruthin'?" he asked, chuckling a little bit in disbelief.

Julia looked at Marta and bit her lip. Oh shit. How the hell did Blanc find that out? And motives? Oh boy. Did this man know about her and Marta? Julia felt her palms begin to sweat as she looked away from the man.

 _"Do not give yourself away, Julia. Just remain calm, act natural,"_ she thought desperately.

"Who told you that?" Marta asked him.

"Is it true?" Blanc said with a slight shrug to his shoulders.

"Uh..." Marta looked down again and Julia gave Blanc a scolding look. He noticed and once again, he smirked at Julia before looking at Marta once again. "Yes."

"Oh," Blanc said, leaning back with a surprised look on his face.

"It's something I've had since I was a kid. It's a physical thing that I..." Marta shuddered and Julia rubbed her shoulder. "Just the thought of lying...yeah, it makes me puke."

"Really?" Blanc leaned forward once more. "Is Richard havin' an affair?"

Julia's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, what?" This was news to her. She looked at Marta in shock. "Marta, is it true? Is my dad having an affair?"

Marta looked between Julia and Blanc. "Richard?"

"Mmhmm," Blanc hummed.

"An affair?" Marta asked innocently.

"Yeah. A yes or no will do," Blanc said with a smile.

"...Mmm, no."

Blanc clicked his tongue and scoffed lightly and Julia heard Marta's stomach gurgle. Crap. Julia immediately shot off the love seat just in time for Marta to gag, lean over and puke into a decorative flower pot. Julia held a hand to her mouth. It was true. Her father was having an affair.

"Oh, that bastard!" Julia shouted angrily, clenching her fists at her sides.

Blanc got out of his seat with a shocked and concerned expression on his face. "Dear girl, I'm sorry! I assumed you were speakin' figuratively!"

"Here, have some water," one of the cops said, bringing the retching girl a glass.

Blanc was digging around in his pocket for something before looking at Julia, who was mortified at the revelation about her father. Blanc frowned at her. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Miss Drysdale."

Julia stared at Blanc with an irritated look in her eye. "Not much for delicacy, are you Mr. Blanc..."

"No, I'm afraid not all the time, Miss Drysdale," Blanc replied, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to Marta. "That's quite somethin'," he said to Marta in a tone akin to amazement. "But I was obviously right," Blanc said to one of the cops. "Richard is having an affair. His father-in-law found out and confronted him. "You tell her or I will"," Blanc quoted.

Julia had to sit back down. Her father was having an affair. She couldn't believe it.

As the cops and Blanc continued their discussion, Julia looked up at Marta who was avoiding Julia's gaze. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Marta shivered from both the puking and the cold. "Harlan swore me to secrecy."

Julia scowled at her. "Do you always do what my grandfather tells you?!" she barked out angrily.

The cops and Blanc stopped their conversation to look at the distraught Julia. Marta looked ashamed and lowered her gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry, Julia."

Julia sighed, standing on her two feet once more. "It's...it's okay. It's not your fault. I just...wow, my dad is such an asshole."

Blanc's lips tipped up at the corner to form a smirk and Julia wished he'd stop doing that. She wanted to rip that mouth right off his face...or kiss it. _"Woa, Julia. Pull back on the reins, girl."_

"Miss Drysdale," Blanc started. "I take it you'll be confrontin' your father about the affair?"

"You're damn right I will be!"

"Hmm." Blanc smoked on his cigar. "May I have the honor of witnessin' it?"

Julia cocked her head to one side, studying the man. "You...you want to watch me tear my dad a new asshole?"

Blanc burst out laughing. "In a manner of speakin', yes."

"Why?"

"I hear your temper is of great renown and a little bird told me it even rivals that of your mother's."

"Who the hell is this little bird you keep talking about?"

Blanc chuckled lightly. "I apologize if I'm bein' out of line."

"You are being a little unprofessional, Blanc," the younger cop said.

Julia directed her attention to the two cops. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your names."

The older cop sighed. "I'm Lieutenant Elliot and this," he pointed to the man behind him, "is Trooper Wagner."

Julia nodded to them before looking back at the strange man before her. "Well, do you want to do it now or after you're done questioning us?"

"I do not have a preference," Blanc replied smoothly.

"Good." Julia suddenly stormed toward the porch doors and opened them. "DAD!" she yelled furiously before walking on through. Julia heard numerous footsteps behind her as she looked around, calling out for her father. "DAD!"

He came out of Harlan's office with a surprised grin on his face. "Hey there, kiddo. What's going on?"

Julia glared at him angrily before pulling him back into the office. Blanc followed suit but the others stayed behind as Julia slammed the door shut. She turned and pointed a finger at her father. "How could you do this?!"

"How could I do what?" Richard asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me! You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about!"

Richard looked very confused. "I don't know what you're talking about, kiddo."

"You're cheating on Mom!" she hissed.

Richard's innocent expression dropped and he sighed. "Listen, I don't know what you heard or who you heard it from, but-"

"I know for a _fact_ that you're cheating, Dad! How could you?!"

"Does the detective need to be here for this?" Richard asked, looking past Julia at the man in question.

"Yes!" Julia pushed her father's chest with her finger. "You better come clean! Right now! Who the _fuck_ is she?"

Richard frowned. "She's no one you know."

"Oh, you bastard!"

"Don't talk that way to me!" Richard roared. "I'm your father!"

"I will talk to you however I want to! I've lost all respect for you!"

Richard once again frowned with a sad look in his eyes. "Are you gonna tell your mother?"

Julia scoffed bitterly and crossed her arms. "I should because she'll chew your fucking ass out better than I can! I can't believe you would do such a thing!"

Richard bowed his head. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I really am."

"No, you're only sorry because you got caught! Now you better make this right and you better tell Mom because if you don't, I'm definitely gonna tell her!"

Richard sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "Alright, alright. I'll tell her. Just...just not yet. After this...police questioning is over, I'll tell her."

Julia's nostrils flared. "I'm so disappointed in you, Dad. _So_ disappointed."

Richard lowered his head in shame as Julia swirled around and opened the door harshly, looking at Blanc. "Detective, we can finish the questioning now."

Blanc blinked at her as she left the room. Julia spotted Marta and the two cops down the hall towards the back porch and she marched over to them, brushing past them all to the back porch. This was such a nightmare. She couldn't believe her dad was cheating on her mother. This wasn't even a good distraction from the fact that she was an accomplice to murder. Or...manslaughter, rather. Julia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the damp coldness of the fall air.

"Are you alright, Miss Drysdale?" Blanc asked her cautiously from behind.

"No, but...let's just continue with the investigation, Detective," she replied bitterly.

Elliot cleared his throat. "Protecting his secret could be motive, but it's weak sauce, Benny."

"Well, then there's Joni," Blanc pointed out.

Now he had Julia's attention. "Joni?" Wagner asked. "Lifestyle guru Joni? No, Harlan was supporting her and her daughter and that's the opposite of a motive."

"And if that support was threatened," Blanc said, "Miss Cabrera, one moment, please."

Julia turned around to see Marta opening the porch door. "Yes, I just wanna get some Scope."

Blanc shut the door and directed her back onto the porch. "Miss Cabrera..." he said, approaching the woman. "Was Harlan planning on cutting off Joni's allowance?"

Julia's eyebrows raised in surprise. Oh, this guy was _good._ Too good, in fact. Julia was almost certain he'd find out about what really happened to Harlan and she swallowed hard. Marta's stomach made noises again.

"O-Oh my God," she said.

"Alright, don't answer that if you're gonna puke again, please," said Elliot.

"Meg said he paid the school directly. Joni said he sent the money to her. Both were true. She was pocketing the double payment," Blanc explained. "Harlan found out, and cut her off without a cent. Yes?" Blanc pointed at Marta.

Marta had her hand to her mouth and she looked almost frightened. "So she bumps him off for the inheritance?" Wagner asked with incredulity. "Come on, no, have you seen her Insta? She's an influencer."

"No, allowance as a motive?" Elliot inquired. "Again, more weak sauce. You're just dumpin' that vat of weak sauce on me."

"Granted, but she lied to me," Blanc pointed out as he went to sit down. "All three of them did."

"Three?"

"Walter."

The detective and the cops continued talking as Julia looked out over the porch, watching her breath form in the cold air. She was glad she had a turtleneck on but the cold still was seeping into her bones.

"Miss Drysdale?"

Julia looked over her shoulder at Blanc. "Yes?"

"Was Harlan plannin' on firing Walter?" he asked.

Julia sighed in exasperation, throwing up her hands. "Yes."

"Hmm." Blanc crossed a leg over his knee and puffed on his cigar. "Anything else you would like to tell me?"

Julia looked around for Marta but didn't see her. "Where's Marta?"

"She went inside," said Lieutenant Elliot.

Julia turned around fully to face Blanc. "Granddad was also cutting off Ransom's allowance...as well as in his will."

Blanc blew out smoke and cocked his head, studying the woman. "I see. And Ransom is your twin brother?"

"Yes."

"Do you two get along?"

"Sometimes. Ransom is...well, he's an asshole, but I'm used to it."

"And the rest of the family? Are they used to his behavior?"

Julia shook her head. "Nope. Still gets under their skins."

Blanc hummed and straightened his neck. "Would you put it past him to murder someone?"

Julia's eyes went wide. "No, of course not. No one in my family is a murderer, Detective Blanc," she explained, starting to shiver from the cold.

Blanc looked her up and down. "Are you cold, Miss Drysdale?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Why don't you go inside and wait for us in the parlour room?"

Julia nodded and immediately left the porch to go inside. She went to the parlour room to wait, sitting down in the chair that was in front of the wheel of knives. Julia had always been fascinated by that thing despite that fact that most of the knives were stage props, but only her and Harlan knew that. After about five minutes, Detective Blanc, Trooper Wagner and Lieutenant Elliot came into the room. Julia took a deep breath.

 _"Here we go,"_ she thought.

Blanc positioned himself in front of Julia but not close enough to invade her personal space. "Miss Drysdale, you and Marta took Mr. Thrombey upstairs at 11:30 and both you and Marta left at midnight. Think very carefully and with as much detail as possible. Tell us what happened in that half hour?"

Julia swallowed hard, remembering that fateful night while Blanc flipped a silver coin in the air.

* * *

_"What do you want us to do?" Julia asked Harlan._

_Harlan nodded his head with a sad smile. "Go downstairs as noisily as you can and then say goodbye loudly. Call attention to the time if you can. Drive out the gate. Then to avoid the security cameras, pull off the road after the carved elephant. Park and come back on foot to the house. Take the side yard pass through the little gate. The dogs will know you, they shouldn't bark. You've got to get up to the third floor without being seen. The only way is to climb the side trellis and come in through the trick hall window."_

_"You gotta be kidding me," Marta said in shock._

_"I am not. Do it. And for God's sake, don't make any noise! Once you're inside, now this is the tricky part..."_

_"This is the tricky part?!"_

_"Get my robe and cap from my bedroom and put them on."_

_"Harlan," Marta said with tears in her eyes. "This is crazy. I don't think I can do that."_

_"No, we need to make this so airtight that the average cop will entirely dismiss you both as suspects. It sounds crazy, but it'll work. Walt is smoking outside and he'll see you through the glazed window. You both were seen leaving. The security cameras show you both driving off. And twenty minutes later, I'm seen alive and well by my son." Harlan let out a soft chuckle. "You see, you both have gone from suspect number one to an impossibility. Leave the way you came, and don't...be...seen. Drive home, both of you. And sometime in the next few days the police will question you."_

_"No," Marta pleaded, pacing back and forth. "No, no, no. No! I can't lie! You know I can't lie! I'll puke!"_

_"Then don't lie. Tell fragments of the truth. In this exact order."_

_As Harlan explained what to do next, Julia slumped into a chair. This was nuts._

_"No, Harlan, I can't do all that. I-"_

_"I'll do it," Julia said. "I'll climb the trellis and...all that."_

_Harlan and Marta looked at Julia in surprise. "Julia, are you sure?" Harlan asked._

_Julia got up and grabbed Marta by the shoulders, looking right into her eyes. "Marta, you go home. I'll take care of the rest, okay?"_

_Marta frowned but nodded her head. "Okay."_

* * *

The coin landed back in Blanc's hand as he stared at Julia with piercing eyes. It was as if the man was trying to look into her soul, so she averted her gaze to the floor.

"We took him upstairs. Marta and him played their nightly game of Go. He knocked the board over because he's...was a sore loser..." Julia started giggling. "He pretended there was an earthquake."

Blanc chuckled at her retelling of the night. "And then?"

Julia lifted her eyes to the detective. "I played him next after picking up all the pieces and the board. Marta gave him his pain medicine while I cleaned up. Joni came up at one point to check on us, then we both left at midnight. We both said goodbye to Walt, then I went home."

"What kind of medication did she give him?" Elliot asked from his chair.

"And what for?" Blanc added.

"Granddad had a pulled shoulder so Marta was giving him, um, Toradol? In an IV. And he had sleeping problems so she gave him some morphine, too," Julia explained.

"How much?" Blanc asked.

"Uh, three milligrams, I believe."

"And the Toradol?"

"A hundred milligrams."

"Hmm. For someone who isn't in the medical field, you sure do know your dosages."

Julia did her best not to blanche. "Well, you pick up things here and there," she said.

"And the family knew about this?" Elliot asked.

"Yup."

"Did you notice anything strange or off about his demeanor?"

Oh boy. "No."

Julia looked at Blanc who was once again looking straight into her eyes. "Hmm, sounds about right. Thank you, Miss Drysdale," he said. Julia nodded and got up quickly to walk out. "Oh, just one more thing..."

Julia stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Yes?"

"Did you watch Miss Cabrera leave the property?"

"Yeah. She was ahead of me on the road."

"I see. Alright, thank you. Could you send in Miss Cabrera on your way out?"

Julia nodded and walked out of the room, feeling dizzy. She spotted Marta sitting down on a bench and she looked up at Julia. "Your turn," Julia said.

They closed the gap in between one another, hugged, then Julia watched Marta go into the parlour room. She hoped Marta wasn't going to throw up.


	3. Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, things are going to get a little interesting now. At least I hope you guys think it'll be interesting.

It was night time now and people were in the living room for Harlan's memorial service. Fran was busy talking up Marta about some movie she saw on the Hallmark channel. Something about the wife being poisoned by the husband.

Julia finished off her champagne as her mom approached her.

"Julia, you really should take it easy on the champagne. It's your third glass," Linda said to her daughter.

"Yep, and I'm about to have my fourth in a minute," Julia commented dryly.

She suddenly noticed a commotion going on over by Marta and Julia marched over. Marta looked like she was about to faint.

"What's going on?" Julia asked with concern in her voice.

"I got a little dizzy," Marta said lightly.

Meg and Fran were also by Marta's side. "Hey, breathe," Meg said to Marta who was breathing heavily. "Marta, are you okay?" Marta shook her head. "Hey, Fran. Do you still have your stash?"

The three women followed Fran into one of the study rooms and Fran opened a drawer that was connected to a clock with a bronze cupid figurine on it.

Julia wondered what had gotten into Marta, but then she guessed that the day had been hard on the nurse. Hell, the whole week had been hard on her. Not that Julia's week had been much better.

Marta was pacing back and forth, apologizing for her behavior. Julia shook her head. "It's alright, Marta. Just...just take a hit of weed and you'll feel better," Julia joked with a chuckle.

Marta sat down, pressing her hand to her upper chest and breathing heavily. "My heart won't stop..." she said as Meg knelt down beside her and lit a joint. "It's just everything..." Meg offered the joint but Marta declined.

Julia sighed, feeling the rush of the champagne getting to her. She needed some fresh air but she didn't want to leave her friend behind. "Meg, can you keep an eye on her? I need to go outside for a few minutes," said Julia.

Meg agreed and Julia practically ran outside to the patio. As she burst through the doors, she sighed in relief as the cool night air hit her. God, it was so stuffy in that house. She heard a lighter click and she quickly turned, seeing none other than Detective Blanc sitting in a dark corner lighting a cigar.

"Well, aren't you the mysteriously ominous type?" Julia chuckled a little. "Sitting in a dark corner all by your lonesome."

Smoke billowed from the shadows. "Mmm," was Blanc's only response.

 _"Well, okay then,"_ she thought to herself. Julia stuffed her hands into her pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "I suppose it is a nice night out to be...skulking in the darkness." When she got no answer, Julia turned her attention to the sky. This was getting awkward. She shifted back to Blanc. "I'm sorry, but why are you still here?"

"I stayed hopin' to speak to you a little more," Blanc replied in his low southern drawl.

"Me? Why?"

Blanc leaned forward, now being partially in the light. Julia bit her lower lip. What could he possibly want to speak to her about?

"Well, you and Miss Cabrera, really, but something is afoot with this whole affair." He grinned warmly. "I know it. I believe you both know it too."

 _"Shit_ _,"_ Julia said in her own head. This was bad. Really bad. "Detective, I'm not sure I get what you-"

"I also wanted to apologize for lettin' it slip about your father's cheatin' ways. I honestly didn't know that you were ignorant of the fact."

"Oh." Julia smiled softly. "It's okay. I'm glad I found out. Granted, it could have been done more...delicately."

Blanc's chest rumbled with a deep chuckle before he puffed on his cigar. "Yes, it could have been revealed more delicately."

Julia tilted her head to one side. "Why did you want to see me confront my father?"

"To gauge what kind of person you are, Miss Drysdale," the detective said matter-of-factly. "You have a good heart and a strong spirit. I can tell."

Julia felt her cheeks heat up a little. Was she blushing or was it just the cold? She couldn't really tell...or she didn't want to know. "So, you're going to keep digging for the truth, then?"

"Harlan's detectives, they dig. They rifle and root. Truffle pigs. I anticipate the terminus of Gravity's Rainbow."

Julia grinned and sat down in a chair. "Gravity's Rainbow, huh? Well, I hate to disappoint you but I haven't read that book."

"Neither have I," Blanc confessed. "Nobody has. But I like the title. It describes the path of the projectile determined by natural law. Et voila, my method. I observe the facts without biases of the head or heart. I determine the arc's path, stroll leisurely to its terminus and the truth falls at my feet."

Julia's eyes were wide with wonder the whole time that he spoke. They stared at each other for a few moments, eyes locked on for what seemed like forever. There was an intelligence and kindness in his eyes that Julia found to be mesmerizing. She could get lost in it forever if she wanted to, to go down that rabbit hole and see what kind of man Blanc was, but then she was brought back to reality and she blinked a few times before looking away towards the sky.

"You sure do have a way with words, Detective. You should've been a writer," Julia said absentmindedly.

This made Blanc laugh and this made Julia happy to make him laugh. He had a nice laugh. She looked at him and caught him smiling at her, but then his gaze turned serious and he sucked in smoke from his cigar as he got up from his seat and slowly made his way towards her.

"The medical examiner was ready to rule this a suicide, but Elliot agreed to keep it pending for forty eight hours. Tomorrow morning, I search the grounds and the house, begin my investigation." The man paused as he stared off into the distance. "I want you and Miss Cabrera to be by my side for it," he said, giving her a determined look.

Julia's heart jumped into her throat. _"God dammit,"_ she thought as she stood up. "Excuse me?"

"My confidantes. My eyes and ears."

"But why? Why us?"

"I trust your kind hearts," he merely said. She knew he was bullshitting her. "And also, Miss Cabrera is the only one who had nothing to gain from Harlan's death."

"You're talking about the will," she said. "Well, I can assure you I have nothing to gain from Granddad's death, either. I specifically told him to keep me out of the will."

Blanc looked at her in surprise. "Really? Why would you do somethin' like that?"

"Because I'm not a...a vulture waiting for a dead carcass to be picked at," Julia said defensively. "Besides, I have my own money. Why would I need any of his?"

Blanc looked into her eyes as if searching for something. "See? A good, kind heart."

Julia swallowed hard, noticing how close the detective was. So close that she could feel the body heat flowing off him. He sure was toasty. It was nice. His cologne and what she assumed was his natural scent filled her nostrils and it took all her strength to keep her knees from buckling, especially from the intensity in which he was now staring down at her.

Suddenly Marta burst through the doors and the stare down was interrupted. Blanc cleared his throat and took a step back. "Ah, Miss Cabrera. I was just tellin' Miss Drysdale that you both are to accompany me tomorrow in my investigation."

Marta looked like she was going to puke. "What?"

Julia pressed a finger to her forehead. "Yeah, we're to be his confidantes. His eyes and ears. Doesn't that just sound peachy?" Julia said through barely gritted teeth.

Blanc turned back to Julia. "How about it, Watson?" he said, winking at her before turning and walking towards the patio doors.

"Detective?" Marta said, making Blanc turn back around. "If you want my insight into the family...none of them are murderers. That's my insight."

"And yet, be it cruel," he descended the steps to walk to Marta, "or comforting, this machine unerringly arrives at the truth. That's what it does."

"Always?" Marta asked.

Blanc smirked before looking over at Julia. "Tomorrow at eight."

He turned around, put out his cigar and walked back into the house. Julia released the breath she'd been holding in and sat back down in the chair. He knew something. Did he know that Marta and her were somehow involved in Harlan's death? Julia felt like she was going to throw up.

"What happened?" Marta asked Julia.

"I haven't the slightest idea, Marta," Julia replied darkly.

* * *

_"I know I missed something," Harlan said with some anxiety. "There's gonna be something I missed."_

_"Harlan," Marta said._

_"But I know you can do this," Harlan said to both Marta and Julia._

_"No, I can't," Marta sobbed._

_Harlan reached for the doorknob. "Without losing your soul," he said as he opened the door, "you have to do what you have to do to beat this and win."_

_Julia was practically dragging Marta through the door. "Harlan, I can't."_

_"You can, and you have to. For me," Harlan whispered._

_"No."_

_Julia sighed with tears in her eyes, forcing Marta to face her. "Marta, I'm the one who is doing the hard part. All you have to do is go home. The rest of it, I got it covered. Granddad is right, we have to do this."_

_Julia pulled Marta down the steps as Harlan shut the door. "Julia, we can't do this."_

_"Yes we can. I am not going to let you get into trouble for this. It was an accident, but you'll go to jail for sure."_

_Marta stood for a few moments, tears falling down her face. She kept shaking her head before she turned and opened the door. "Harlan, I have to get you help."_

_Julia walked in and covered her mouth, gasping at the sight before her. Her grandfather was laying on the couch with a knife to his throat._

_"You do as I say and everything will be just fine," Harlan said with a comforting smile._

_"No," Marta whispered shakily. . "No."_

_Julia started crying as she looked her Granddad in the eye. He was really going to do it. His mind was made up._

_"I promise," Harlan said._

_In that moment, Harlan cut his throat open and Julia and Marta covered their mouths to suppress themselves from screaming. They hurried out of the room, shut the door and sat on the stairs, both crying silently._

_"I-I can't believe he did that," Julia cried out. "That was so awful."_

_Marta nodded, still crying and breathing heavily. Julia wrapped an arm around Marta and they cried on each other, sobbing madly. After a few moments they both calmed down enough to leave the stairs._

* * *

Julia woke up with a start, sitting up in her bed. She had that dream again of seeing her grandfather slit his throat. Julia raised her knees and held her face, shaking her head softly.

"Dammit," she said to herself before slinking out of bed.

Julia was going to leave her hair down today and she dressed in blue bootcut jeans and a long sleeved white shirt before putting on a dark gray sweater. After going through her morning routine, Julia put on her tennis shoes, grabbed her red cotton overcoat and left the house, locking it up behind her. It was early, about six o'clock and the sun was still on the horizon but was peeking through enough that Julia could see her surroundings. The trees that were placed around her big white Tudor styled house really gave it a homey feel. She decided she was going to go into town for some breakfast since it was still early.

Julia got into her car and drove down the path to the main road, making a left instead of a right. If she went right, she'd get to Granddad's estate that was only a few miles from her home. What could she say? She liked staying close to Harlan.

As she arrived in town, she parked her Chevy Nova outside a local diner and walked in. The smell of waffles hit her nose and she smiled warmly while shutting her eyes. It smelled so good in the diner. However, when her blue eyes opened, her throat clamped up when she saw Detective Blanc having coffee in one of the booths.

Crap.

Julia was about to leave when they made eye contact and his gaze brightened. Well, she couldn't very well leave now. It would look suspicious. She merely smiled warmly and waved at him shyly. He motioned her over and she walked slowly towards his booth.

"Fancy meeting you here," Julia said.

"Mmm, yes," Blanc said, looking up at her with a smile. "Care to join me?"

Julia nodded and sat across from him, the pleather of her seat creaking. She removed her jacket and a waiter came to hand her a menu.

"Hello, I'm Danny. Anything I can get you?" the waiter asked her.

Julia browsed the menu briefly. "Hmm...waffles and a coffee, please," she said, handing Danny back the menu.

Danny left and Blanc gave her an inquisitive look. "Waffles, huh?"

"Oh, I _love_ waffles. I will eat them any chance I get that. Granddad always..."

The thought of her late grandfather made her pause and she frowned, lowering her gaze. Julia shut her eyes, seeing her grandfather slitting his own throat. The image threatened to make Julia burst into tears.

"Miss Drysdale? Are you alright?" Blanc asked with worry in his tone.

In her moment of weakness, Julia noticed that he had reached across the table to grasp her hand. Out of concern, perhaps, but why would he do that? She was a possible suspect in a case he was investigating. Wasn't this show of affection a little unprofessional? Still, that didn't stop Julia from keeping her hand exactly where it was. She didn't mind it. In fact, she liked it.

Julia lifted her eyes to meet Blanc's and she gulped. "Um...yes. Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, was just thinking about Granddad."

Blanc nodded, his hand still placed over hers. "I truly am sorry for your loss, Miss Drysdale."

When Danny came back with her coffee, she pulled her hand away and ahemed to herself. "Thank you," she uttered in embarassment.

Blanc pulled his hand back and took a drink of his coffee, but not before Julia noticed the expression on his face. He looked almost...crestfallen. But why?

"Did I upset you, Detective Blanc?" Julia asked him.

"Oh. No, no you did not," Blanc said rather quickly. "I was just thinking about something."

Julia blew into her coffee cup. "Like what, if you don't mind me prying?"

Blanc shifted in his seat and blinked a few times. "Nothing important. You write romance novels, correct?"

Julia was happy to oblige him the change of subject. Whatever he had been thinking about was not her place to know. "Yes. It's a...well, I don't want to sound cliche but it's certainly a passion of mine."

"You must be quite good to have amassed your own little fortune," Blanc said softly. "How many books have you written?"

Julia blew out a breath from loose lips and leaned back with a thump. "Oh, I'd say about seventeen books now. Five of them are part of a series."

"You're joking," Blanc said, looking amazed. "Seventeen books just about romance?"

"Yeah. See, the genre I'm most prominent in is romance but that doesn't mean I don't include others. I have two that are westerns, the series is fantasy based, some are science fiction, et cetera."

"Huh. I see. You must have a wild imagination."

Julia smirked. "I do. What can I say? I'm just like my Granddad...a really good writer."

Blanc took a sip of his coffee. "Have you written any mysteries or crime novels like he has?"

"Oh noooo, no no no. I haven't quite found the inspiration I'm looking for yet," Julia chuckled.

"Well, maybe this case might be the inspiration you need," Blanc observed coyly.

Julia frowned. "Hmm. That's...not a terrible idea," she put out. "But not anytime soon. Granddad's death is still...too fresh, you know?"

Blance hummed with a nod. "I understand."

Danny came with her plate of waffles and waffle fixings and set it down in front of her. She thanked the waiter and started buttering up her food. "Did you already eat?"

"Yes, I ate at home. I just like coming here for coffee."

"Why?"

"Sittin' in a diner with a cup of coffee helps me think. And this case...well, requires much of my brain power to fathom."

Julia chuckled at him, pouring syrup on her waffles. "That confusing, huh?"

"It makes no damn sense, but I am hoping that a survey of the grounds and house today will bring some much needed clarity," he said, grabbing his cup and drinking coffee.

Julia cut up her waffles and sighed. "Well, I'll try to be as helpful as I can, Detective Blanc," she said a little uneasily. _"Maybe this is a good opportunity to make sure he doesn't find out what the hell really happened_ , _"_ she thought.

"I was hopin' you would," Blanc said with a bright smile. "I look forward to your input."

Julia took a bite of her waffle and smiled. "Mmm, so good."

Julia started scarfing down her food but then she stopped with a piece of waffle sticking out of her mouth. No, she needed to eat properly and not like some cave woman like she always did. She sucked it in and chewed slowly, avoiding the look that Blanc must have been giving her.

"Sorry, I kinda eat like a pig," she said with a mouthful of food. _"Dammit, don't talk with your mouth full!"_

Blanc laughed into his coffee cup. "That's okay. I love a woman who enjoys her food."

Julia's cheeks turned red as her eyes drifted to his. "You do?"

Blanc swallowed some coffee and set it down, clearing his throat and changing his demeanor entirely. "Are you workin' on a book now?"

Julia was a little disappointed that he wanted to change the subject. "Kind of. I have some ideas running around in my head but I'm not sure what the whole plot will be yet."

"What's the genre besides romance?"

"Hmm...well, it's modern day. The woman is a big time fashion designer and the love interest is a model. So...drama, maybe?"

"I see."

Julia proceeded to put more food in her mouth. When her waffles were gone, they continued to converse about their tastes in music, books, even movies. Julia wasn't surprised to find that Blanc loved old black and white movies.

"Do you have a favorite old movie, Miss Drysdale?" Blanc asked with a playful curiousity in his eyes.

"The Last Man On Earth with Vincent Price. Total classic for me," she replied without hesitation.

"Really? Huh. I would've pegged you for a Casablanca type of woman."

"Why? Because it's romance?"

"Well, yes," Blanc said with a chuckle.

Julia waved her hand away. "Naw, I can't stand unhappy endings. The guy didn't get the girl. I'm more of a horror movie type of woman anyway."

Blamc gave her a mischevious grin. "You like being scared?"

Julia laughed loudly. "The day I find a horror movie that actually scares me is the day Hell will freeze over."

Danny came over and refilled both their coffees. They both thanked him and both started drinking from their cups. Julia realized this was their third cup of coffee. She checked the time on her phone. It was 7:34.

"Geez, it's already seven thirty-four!" she exclaimed with wide eyes.

Blanc made a similar expression. "Sweet beans! We better get going." They paid for their food and rushed out of the diner to their cars. Blanc stopped, however, to take a look at Julia's car. "Your car...it's nice."

Julia was already at the driver's side when she grinned at him. "What can I say? I do love me a muscle car."

"Manual transmission?"

"Unfortunately, no. When I bought it, the fool had replaced the transmission with an automatic. I do have plans to change it back myself, though. When I find the time for it."

Blanc's mouth parted in surprise. "You have plans? To do it yourself?"

"Oh yes. I've done it before, this isn't my only car, you know. I've also got a '69 Dodge Charger and a '70 Pontiac Firebird in my garage. I have my winter car, which is just a '97 Honda CRV."

Blanc smiled at her. "You, my dear, are just full of surprises."

Julia blushed as Blanc turned away to get in his own vehicle. Julia got in and started her car with a deep rumble coming from the engine. She waited for Blanc to lead. She put the car into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot, then she shifted into drive and drove from the parking lot.

It didn't take long to arrive at Harlan's estate. Julia stopped just behind Blanc's car in the gravel driveway and got out. It was a beautiful fall day. Not too cold, though Julia could still see her breath. The sun was shining and birds were singing. She looked up at the house and her mood immediately turned sour. She really missed her grandfather. The lasting impression of his demise flashed in her brain and she closed her eyes to fight back the tears.

"Miss Drysdale?"

Julia quickly opened her eyes and looked at Blanc. He was studying her with his crystalline blue eyes. It made her feel...things and she immediately pushed them aside as she walked to him.

"So, where do we start, Detective?" she asked.

"We're gonna start at the security shack down the way. Let's take a walk," he explained.

The two made their way down the gravel path slowly, Blanc shoving his hands into his pockets as they did. Julia clasped her hands behind her back. At first they were quiet, the tension rising between them.

"So how does an aspiring romance novelist become a mechanic?" Blanc inquired, breaking the silence.

"Oh, it merely became a hobby of mine," Julia replied. "And I don't mind getting my hands dirty."

"You don't?" Blanc asked, lighting up a cigar.

"Naw. There's something about having grease and oil on my hands from a car that makes me feel good. Like I'm being productive or something, I'm not sure," Julia explained in an animated fashion. She turned and walked backwards, grinning at Blanc with her hands still behind her back. "Do you have any hobbies, Detective?"

"Well," Blanc said, taking a puff from his cigar, "I do indulge in chess on occasion and I am also a lacrosse player."

"Chess and lacrosse, huh? The mind boggles," she said, turning back around.

"Do you know anything about chess or lacrosse?"

"Chess, a little. Lacrosse, absolutely nothing." Suddenly an idea popped into Julia's head and she pulled out her pocketbook. "I should write that down."

Blanc peeked over. "What are you doing?"

"Just writing down an idea for my book," she explained as she stopped walking, scribbling "lacrosse?" and "chess?" into her book. "My Granddad did the same thing when he got ideas for his novels."

"Ah," Blanc had also stopped to observe her writing. "You have beautiful penmanship, Miss Drysdale."

"Thank you. Mom always said I had the handwriting of a serial killer, though," she said, closing the book and putting it away.

"How would she know that?"

Julia giggled. "Oh, it's just a line from a movie."

"Which one?"

"Can't remember, if I'm being honest."

The two continued onwards and eventually the security building came into view. "Well, we're here," Blanc said. "We'll wait for Miss Cabrera here."

Julia pulled out her phone. It was 7:58. "She should be here any moment, I would imagine."

As they got closer to the building, Blanc turned his face to Julia. "How many pairs of shoes do you own?"

Julia looked at him with a quirked brow. "Pardon?"

"How many pairs of shoes do you own?" he repeated casually.

"Oh. Well, I have about...four pairs?"

"I thought a woman couldn't have enough shoes?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not like other women."

"No, you really aren't," Blanc said with admiration.

Julia felt her cheeks heat up and she looked down the path just as Marta's blue car was coming up. Blanc whistled loudly and waved at her car before turning towards the building to walk in. Julia crossed her arms as Marta approached slowly before pulling off to the side to park. She got out and looked at Julia shyly. The two embraced each other in a hug.

"You ready?" Julia asked softly.

"No," Marta replied. "I'm terrified."

"Don't be. I got you covered."


	4. The Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know I'm just pumping out chapters for this story even though I should be paying attention to the other two but I can't figure out how to wrap up "Out Of Time" and I have writer's block for "When We Were Younger". That and I'm having soooooo much fun writing this fanfic
> 
> Anyway, thanks for the kudos and comments. They really help keep me going.

Julia walked into the security building with Marta, being greeted by Lieutenant Elliot and Trooper Wagner. She noticed that Blanc had put on glasses and smiled. She didn't know he needed glasses.

"Fifty years ago, I worked this estate," Mr. Proofroc, the security guard said as he placed a picture of the house on the fridge with a cherry magnet. "You know, security back then was such that you had to make rounds with a 94 and keep your ears open." He smiled lightly. "Now you've got all this modern technology," he said, waving his hand around.

Julia raised a brow. There were three security TVs and two of them had only static on the screens while the third only showed the entry way with the carved elephant not that far down the road. As Mr. Proofroc kept talking, Julia stared at the screen. Just like Harlan had said, Julia had pulled off after the elephant and was glad that it wasn't going to be seen on the tape. She had no reason to worry.

"Well, can we see the actual tape?" Elliot asked the man.

"Well of course you can," Mr. Proofroc said, grabbing an old looking VHS tape. "I recorded it SSLP. There's eight hours in that tape. Nine pm to five am." He handed Marta the tape with a smile.

Marta put the tape into the VHS machine and pressed play. Whirring sounded from the object and Julia grinned, feeling a bit nostalgic because of what she was hearing.

The numbers on the screen read 21:01:07:05. Julia cocked her head to the side. This was three hours before her and Marta left.

"Looks like a Japanese horror movie," Wagner pointed out.

"You think we could scan forward on that?" Blanc asked, bending over slightly so Marta could hear.

"Are we all gonna die in seven days?"

Julia snorted at Wagner. "I hope not."

"How do we scan forward?" Marta asked Mr. Proofroc.

"Oh, yeah, just hold the play button down and press FF until you hear it grind," Mr. Proofroc explained.

Marta did as she was told and Julia watched as the feed fast forwarded, the numbers on the screen going higher in count. Everyone was staring at the video curiously and Julia stole a glance at Blanc.

 _"I need to stop staring at the man,"_ she thought to herself. _"He just might end up sending my guilty ass to jail."_

"Alright, should be coming up now to the time when the party ended," Wagner said.

Suddenly the screen turned to static and the tape ejected in a smoky haze. "What happened?" Marta asked.

"Oh, you gotta keep holding it down or else it'll eject," Mr. Proofroc explained. "That thing eats tapes like popcorn."

Blanc turned to the cops. "You think your guys can digitize this so we can scan it properly?" he asked the two men.

"Yeah, I think we can do that," Wagner replied quietly.

"I got it," Marta said, pocketing the tape into her coat.

They all left the building and started wandering towards a small pathway that led towards the house. As they walked, Julia and Blanc conversed along, occasionally laughing and smiling at each other.

"Miss Drysdale, if I were to pick out one of your books, which one would you recommend I read first?" Blanc asked suddenly.

Julia looked at him with wide, blue eyes. "One of my books? Oh, Detective, I never would have thought you were one for romance."

Blanc gave her a sly grin. "Yes, one of my sinful pleasures," he whispered. "Don't tell anyone."

Julia bit her lip and her eyes held delight. "I won't...but you have more than one sinful pleasure?" Suddenly Julia's cheeks turned beet red when she saw the look of disbelief on Blanc's face. _"_

 _"Shit, what am I doing? Stop flirting with the man!"_ she yelled in her head.

His expression shifted into a playful one. "Yes," he said. "Do you have any?"

 _"Oh my God,"_ she thought.

Her face turned even more red. "Well, yes. Doesn't everyone?" she asked, aheming as she gave him a deer in the headlights look.

"I would imagine so, yes," he replied, looking away from her suddenly.

Julia slowly let out a sigh of relief. _"What the hell am I doing? I need to keep focused. I need to cover up my trail so he doesn't find out what Marta and I did."_

"You know," Wagner started as he caught up to the two, "all these statues that you see around here? They're all straight out of the series "The Menagerie Tragedy Trilogy". Pretty cool."

"Awesome," Elliot replied, sounding uninterested.

Julia looked at Wagner with a smile. "I take it you're a fan of my Granddad's work?" she asked him.

"Oh, a _big_ fan," he answered. "Huge fan!"

"Benny, it's beautiful out here," Elliot said, "but do you really think someone broke into the house and murdered Harlan? Is that why we're out here?"

Julia's blood ran cold as Marta looked back at her with a scared look. "Oh, it is unlikely, but if they did, there will be traces," Detective Blanc surmised.

Wagner caught up to Marta and she handed him the tape. Blanc started humming a tune as they began walking up a small hill, the leaves under their feet crunching. Julia loved the fall, the smell of dead leaves and the crunchiness of them. She bent down and grabbed a random leaf before squeezing it into her hand. It crinkled and broke apart in her palm and she sniffed it with a grin. It reminded her of a time when her and Ransom were young, running in the backyard and jumping into big piles of leaves together. Those were good times...before Ransom grew to be a spoiled brat.

"Penny for your thoughts, Miss Drysdale?" Blanc asked.

Julia let the pieces of the dead leaf fall from her hand. "Was just thinking about when I was a kid and my brother and I played in piles of leaves."

"Ah. Speakin' of, do you think he'll come to the will reading today?"

"I don't know. Since he's out of the will, he might want to avoid the embarassment of it," she replied, putting her hands in her coat pockets. "Then again, he's a cocky little shit. I doubt this would have knocked his ego down at all. Not yet, at least."

Blanc barked with laughter, throwing his head back briefly. "You're not a fan of your brother, are you?"

"No one is. He may be my twin but...well, he's always been an asshole, but it wasn't always his most dominant trait."

"I see. Were you two close as children?"

"Oh, absolutely. I'm afraid to say that I, too, was an asshole as a kid and we both thrived off each other."

Blanc stared at her in shock. "No! Really?"

"Oh yeah," Julia laughed, lowering her head. "I was _awful._ "

"What changed?" Julia suddenly paused in her steps and he stopped with her. Her head stayed bowed as she avoided his eyes. "Miss Drysdale?"

"...I suppose I grew out of it," Julia said abruptly, quietly.

As she lifted her head, Blanc studied her with a suspicious gaze. "Hmm," he hummed before they resumed walking.

"Hey, Wagner, you got any luck on..." Elliot turned to Wagner, snapping his fingers. "Uh, what's-his-name?"

"Ransom?" Wagner replied.

"Yeah."

"No. Did get an address, though."

"Yeah?"

"10 Kenoak Street."

Blanc turned his attention to Wagner. "Ken...Kenoak?" he sounded out.

"Uh huh," Wagner said.

"Kenoak," Blanc said once more. "It's a pleasant thing to say, isn't it? Kenoak. I awoke amid Kenoak." Blanc chuckled briefly. "That's funny. Ken-oh-kia."

"All these leaves and mud, they're really gonna do a number on my boots, man," Wagner said as he trudged through it.

Julia stopped walking. The mud.

 _"Oh shit_ _,"_ she thought.

Luckily, she hadn't walked near anywhere that her footprints could be seen, but still...she quickly walked up to Marta who was just up ahead.

"Mud. Did it rain the past week?" Blanc asked no one in particular. "No, stay there!"

Julia paused and looked at the mud. Only one set of prints were visible but Julia knew they weren't hers. They must have been Marta's. She looked at Marta who had been walking through the mud this whole time.

"Marta, stay there," Blanc said.

Marta turned, already at the gate. "What?"

"Um..."

"What?" Marta said, walking back.

Julia was frozen on the spot, too terrified to move. "Marta, Julia, stay there. No, Marta! Stay there, Marta!"

Julia smirked as Marta pretended not to hear him. "What? I couldn't..." she said as she continued walking.

"No, no!"

"Did you call me?" Marta asked, walking past Julia.

Julia turned around to see Blanc placing his hand on his forehead. "Alright, alright, excuse me," Elliot said, walking around the detective. Wagner did as well, both avoiding the muddy path as Blanc turned around, his shoulders shrunk in defeat. "Wagner, we're gonna need to call the boys, have 'em come down here, take a look at all these tracks. Get it taped off. Stay on that side," he told Julia and Marta.

Julia sidestepped off the path and sighed, rubbing her hands through her hair. Suddenly Julia heard the dogs Zeus and Sabre coming and she smirked to herself when she saw them barreling through the yard towards her. They ran right past Wagner and Elliot to her and Marta. She bent down and scratched behind Zeus's ear while Sabre was begging Marta for attention. Marta knelt down to pet Sabre.

"Best judge of character is a dog," Blanc said, looking down at Julia with a soft grin. "I've found that to be true."

Julia gazed up at him and smiled. "Yes, it is very true. And these two are the best dogs I know."

The dogs went running back to the house as a car door closed and Julia stood up to see her parents by their car. From the looks of their faces, her father still hadn't told her mother about the affair. This made Julia's mood go from good to bad and she scowled, crossing her arms.

"Still hasn't told her, huh?" Blanc said at her side.

"No, I suppose that's his sinful pleasure. Having an affair," Julia spat bitterly.

Blanc chuckled lightly. "You still haven't told me yours, you know."

Julia turned her head to look at Blanc. He looked very impish. "That's my little secret, Detective," she said, smirking at him.

"But I told you mine."

"Does that mean I'm obligated to tell you mine?" she teased.

Blanc scratched the back of his head and looked away for a moment. "No, I suppose not," he chortled.

"That's not to say I won't ever tell you," she said, winking at him.

_"Oh my God, I need to stop."_

Blanc took one step closer to her. "Well, I look forward to having light shed on your secret...if you ever decide to inform me of what it is."

 _"Oh God..._ _this man is so delicious. I wish I could just take a bite out of him. Ah! No! I need to stop thinking like this!"_ Julia chastised herself.

"Benoit?"

"Hmm?" the detective hummed, looking away from Julia to Elliot. "Yes?"

"They've got plans to read the will at 10:00, so the whole family will be here soon," Lieutenant Elliot said, hopping over to the other side of the muddy path.

Julia's head cocked to one side. "Your first name is Benoit?"

Blanc looked back at her with a shy smile. "Yes. Yes it is."

 _"Oh, that's just cute."_ Julia cleared her throat. "I like it. You don't hear a name like that every day."

This comment made Blanc smile brightly. "Thank you," he said.

Julia tucked some hair behind her ear, gave a sheepish grin and started walking towards the house with the others. Marta caught up with her with her jaw dropped.

"Were you and the detective flirting back there?" Marta whispered.

"I...yes?" Julia said in a flabbergasted tone.

"Do you think you should be doing that?" Marta warned.

"No, but I can't seem to help myself."

"Why?"

Julia looked over her shoulder at the very man they were discussing and he was watching them both. She waved a little before turning back to Marta. "Because the man is _gorgeous,"_ Julia growled lowly.

Marta gasped. "Be that as it may, you should keep your distance."

"I know I should. You know I had coffee with him this morning?"

"How did that happen?"

"I went to one of the diners in town and he just happened to be there too."

Marta's lip quirked into a smile. "Did you have waffles?"

Julia rolled her eyes and giggled. "Yes, and I ate like a pig, but he found that adorable, apparently..."

"Julia, this is serious. We could end up in jail and he'd be the very man to send us there."

Julia sighed, running a hand down her face. "I know. But the man is so handsome, I can't seem to help myself."

"He makes you impulsive. That's not a good thing."

"Who makes you impulsive?" Blanc asked them from behind.

Both the girls jumped and turned around, Julia looking as if she had her hand caught in the cookie jar. "Nobody," she squeaked out.

"Uh huh. You two havin' a ladies talk, huh? No men allowed?" he said with a knowing smile.

"Right," Marta said. "No men allowed. Anyway, I've never been to a will reading."

Julia was happy for the subject change but Benoit Blanc looked chagrined for a moment or two before speaking. "Oh, well," he said, hands in his coat pockets, "you think it'd be like a game show, but think of a community theater production of a tax return."

Julia squinted her eyes at him, holding back a giggle. She pulled out her pocketbook. "I'm gonna write that down," she said, turning and walking back toward the house with Marta and Blanc.

"You gonna quote me on that?" Blanc inquired.

"Maybe. Do I need to quote you to have it in my book?"

"It would be my utmost pleasure if I was in your book, Miss Drysdale."

Julia's mind wandered to something dirty but she stopped herself. _"I need to get my mind out of the gutter."_

"So, what are we looking for?" Marta asked Blanc.

"Oh, you know," Blanc bent down near the trellis. "Anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. You'll know it when you see it."

Julia gulped, looking up at the turquoise colored trellis on the side of the house. She'd nearly fallen off that thing when she snuck back inside the house. A piece of it had broken off during her climb. Sabre came padding up to her with the missing piece of the trellis and suddenly she looked at Blanc in horror. Was he going to notice that? Julia quickly grabbed the piece and threw it as far as she could away from them all. Marta looked at her in confusion so Julia pointed discreetly at the broken trellis. Marta looked up and gasped before the two turned to Blanc who was just getting up.

"Sweet beans!" he said, looking at the window. "Well, good morning, Mrs. Thrombey."

Julia walked over quickly to see that Nana was staring at Blanc. Her memory flashed to the night that Harlan had died.

* * *

_Julia climbed down the trellis carefully so as not to slip like she did on the way up. She was shaking horribly, the adrenaline in her body causing it to do so. She still couldn't believe Granddad was gone. Had taken his own life so no one would find out what Marta had done. Such a brave, generous, kind man to do something like that._

_As Julia landed on the grass, she turned and gasped to see Great Nana looking at her through the window._

_"Crap," she said._

_"Ransom? Are you back again already?" the woman asked, her voice old and croaky._

_Ransom? Why would Nana call her Ransom?_

* * *

"Miss Drysdale?"

Julia blinked and looked at Blanc. "Um, yes?"

"I asked if you think you and Miss Cabrera could handle the study."

"Oh. Sure," she said, looking back at Marta. "I can if she can."

Marta gave a nod and the three walked around to the back porch to go inside the house. Detective Blanc opened the door and let the women go in first. Julia smiled at his gentlemanly ways and walked in after Marta. They ascended the stairs, the stairs creaking heavily, to the second floor then the next set of stairs to Harlan's private study. Blanc opened the door and started looking around the area, occasionally stopping to look at something random.

Julia looked over at the area where Harlan's couch and rug were now missing and frowned. He'd died right there in front of her and Marta. The thought made her stomach churn, remembering the sound of knife on skin and the spill of blood from his neck. Trooper Wagner came up the stairs and waited patiently with the others as Blanc perused around.

Finally, Benoit Blanc spoke.

"Where's your medical bag?" he asked as he turned around, waving his finger about.

"I don't know. I left it here, I always leave it here with Harlan at night," Marta replied.

"They must've taken it in as evidence," Wagner said. "I'll look into that."

As Wagner left, his footsteps creaked down the stairs. Blanc hummed to himself. Julia crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Blanc.

"Shit," he said lowly. "How'd the Go board get knocked over again? Harlan pretended there was an earthquake?" he asked as he walked to the small table.

"Yes," Julia giggled. "Old man was always so playful and carefree."

"What are you thinking?" Marta asked Blanc.

Blanc bent down at the waist, examining the board before knocking the board down. It clattered softly before settling on the rug. Julia jerked her head to the side, looking at the board in confusion.

The sound of a vehicle and the dogs barking drew all of their attention and Blanc looked out the window.

"No! No no no! Hey! Hey! Hey!"

"Oh, let me guess," Blanc said as Julia came walking over.

Julia laughed lightly when she saw Ransom kicking at Zeus and Sabre, shaking her head. "Yes. My dear brother mine."

"Hey! Stop. Stop," Ransom said.

Julia leaned her head out the window. "Oh, go on boys! Give Ransom a kiss!" she yelled happily.

Ransom looked up and spotted his sister, jutting his jaw to the side in agitation. "Don't you encourage them, Jules! I mean it!"

Julia laughed and made kissing noises. "Zeus! Sabre! Kill!"

The dogs kept barking and circling around Ransom who was now pinned against his own car. "Julia!" he shouted. "Stop it!"

She cackled loudly and sighed. "It's not like they know how to kill people, Ransom. Geez, calm down. Boys, off!"

Zeus and Sabre calmed down and stopped barking at Ransom. Julia leaned back with a giggle. Blanc and Marta were laughing a little as well.

"You always tease your brother like that?" Blanc asked Julia, standing especially close to her.

Julia looked over her shoulder at him and smiled mischievously. "Every chance I get."

Blanc flashed his white teeth at her and it made Julia practically melt. _"That smile kills me,"_ she thought.

Marta ahemed loudly and both Julia and Blanc looked at her. "Right," he said. "Ladies, let's head downstairs."

By the time they reached downstairs, Ransom had walked into the kitchen, completely ignoring the two officers that were walking into the house.

"Excuse me? Sir?" Wagner said loudly. "We're officers of the law!"

"You gonna run me in? I don't feel like talking," Ransom called out from the kitchen. "I'm distraught."

Julia rolled her eyes at her brother's impertinence. "You're not being distraught, brother, you're being an asshole! As usual!" she shouted as she took the last step down the stairs.

"Hey, Benny, you wanna ask this guy some questions?" Elliot asked Blanc.

"Alright, what is this?" Ransom inquired lazily, appearing again in the foyer with a bag of cookies in his hand. "What's this arrangement?"

"Mr. Drysdale," Benoit Blanc addressed to Ransom, putting his hands in his coat pockets.

Ransom looked at the man with raised eyebrows before jutting his chin down slightly, a cookie between Ransom's fingers. "CSI KFC?" he asked.

Julia smacked Ransom in the back of the head just as he was about to put a cookie in his mouth. "Ransom!"

Ransom turned to his sister and glared at her. "What?"

"Don't be such a dick!"

"If you weren't my sister, I'd smack you for smacking me."

"Yeah? Go ahead, asswipe!" Julia dared.

Blanc cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Mr. Drysdale, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Ransom looked back at the man and shook his head, grabbing another cookie and eating it. "No thanks. I'll pass," he said dryly before walking away from everyone to the living room.

Wagner scoffed and Julia sighed. "I'd like to apologize for my brother, Detective Blanc, officers. As I said earlier, he's an asshole."

Blanc chuckled, taking off his glasses to clean them. "Oh, that's quite alright, Miss Drysdale. You did warn me, so I came prepared."

They all followed Ransom into the living room just as he was demanding a glass of milk from "Frannie".

"Hey, asshole," Meg said. "Not her name, not her job."

"Hey, Meg," Ransom said as he sat down with his cookies. "How's the SJW degree coming?"

"Trust fund prick."

"Alright, guys," Joni said with a shake of her head, walking into the room and sitting next to Donna on a couch.

All the seats were now taken so Julia chose to stand near Marta and Detective Blanc. Just then, Alan, Harlan's estate lawyer, came walking in with his assistant who was carrying two boxes.

"Hey, everyone...I'm just gonna be in the other room setting up. Be ready in ten minutes," he said before leaving the area with his assistant in tow.

"Funny, Ransom, you skipped the funeral but you're early for the will reading," Walt said a little bitterly to Ransom.

Julia shut her eyes. "Shit, here we go," she muttered.

"What's wrong?" Blanc asked, looking at Julia.

She sighed as people started bickering. "You're about to witness the prologue to the tax return theater production."

Blanc scoffed in amusement before looking out at the scene before him. "You wanna skip this part of the play?"

Julia smiled with a giggle, looking at him. "Would _you_ like to skip it?"

Blanc gazed at her with a smile himself. "Might miss somethin' important, but...might be worth missin' if I'm skipping it with you."

Julia's jaw dropped. _"What the hell did he just say?"_

Julia heard Joni laugh and it distracted her from what Blanc had just said. "So _that's_ where you were all night," Joni said to Jacob.

"What the hell were you doing in the bathroom all night?" Richard asked.

"Nothing," Jacob said quietly.

"Swatting Syrian refugees?" Meg asked, leaning over the couch while Joni giggled.

"No, I was not."

"Alt-right troll."

"Liberal snowflake."

"I don't know what any of that means," Walt said with confusion.

"It means your son's a little creep," Richard interjected.

"Oh! My son's a creep?"

"Guys, just..." Joni interrupted. "Walt, he was in the bathroom..."

"Yeah, he was in the bathroom," Walt reiterated.

"Joylessly masterbating to pictures of dead deer," Richard commented.

"Dad!" Julia shouted.

Walt sighed. "You know what, Richard?" Walt grasped his cane. "You wanna go?"

"You bet, skippy, let's go!" Richard replied.

"You wanna go?"

"Come on!"

The two men began bickering and closing in on one another. They started smacking each other and Donna, Walt's wife, tried to intervene. Julia shook her head and sighed, face palming herself.

"Detective Blanc, I give you the Thrombey's and the Drysdale's," she said lowly.

With a chortle, Blanc took off his glasses again to clean them. "I must inquire how you were raised in this family and ended up...how you are," he whispered.

"How I am?"

"Yes. Kind hearted."

"Granddad's influence, I guess."

Blanc hummed and Linda shot up from her seat.

"Hey!" she yelled at Walt and Richard before pointing at Jacob. "Jacob. We know where this is going. You were in the bathroom next to Harlan's office where he had the fight with Ransom. Now, you heard something. Spill it."

Jacob set his phone down and looked up at Linda with apprehension. "I just heard two things. "My will" and then there was more yelling and then I heard Ransom say, "I'm warning you"."

Walt raised his arms up and everyone turned to look at Ransom. "Ransom? What's that mean?" Linda asked him.

"I think it means our father finally came to his senses and cut this worthless little brat out of his will," Walt said, approaching Ransom slowly and leaning down near him. "So I guess you're gonna have to sell the Beemer and give your notice at the country club and kick whatever fashion drug you're on because if you think that after all the bridges you've burned, after all the shit you said, after everything that you put this family through for the last ten years, that any of us are gonna support you, that any of us are gonna give you, like Dad liked to say, a single red dime, _you're_ _nuts!"_

Julia tucked in her lips as Walt stood up and walked away. She was done with listening to this shit. She threw up her hands and walked off towards the back porch, opening the door and shutting it.


	5. The Will of Harlan Thrombey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was amazing to write, especially near the end.
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos!

Julia stared out from the porch on the outer edge, her arms crossed over her chest when she heard clamoring echoing from inside. She turned her head to see Blanc walking toward her.

"Well, that was quite a prologue," he said to her in a joking tone.

"Yeah, no kidding," Julia said with a laugh.

Blanc stopped next to here to gaze out on the lawn. "Well, your brother confessed. He's been severed from the will. He did not seem too beat up about it, however."

Julia glanced at him with a head tilt. "Really?"

"He was as cheerful as a cherub, in fact."

Julia's eyes twinkled and she pulled out her pocket book. "I need to write that one down."

Blanc let out a deep chuckle as he peeked at her writing. "It pleases me that I can be your muse, Miss Drysdale."

Julia caught a whiff of his cologne when he got close and she savored it, pausing in her scribbles. _"He smells so wonderful."_

"Yeah, me too," she said, finishing up her writing before stashing the book away.

"Do you often take inspiration from your surroundings?" he inquired softly, not moving from where he was.

Julia tilted her head towards him. "Yes, though I must say you really do strike up a lot of it."

A beaming smile appeared on Blanc's face. "It would appear so."

Their eyes met and Julia swallowed hard. _"He has the most beautiful eyes...I really need to stop this infatuation with him."_

"A Mirror's Reflection," she blurted out.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked with confusion in his tone.

"That's the book I recommend you read first, Detective Blanc."

"Oh? What's it about?"

"It's about a woman whose life gets taken over by her reflection. They switch places and she's forced to watch her life pass by from the mirror's side."

Blanc raised a brow, seeming intrigued. "That sure sounds like a good read."

Julia twisted her body to face his, leaning sideways against the railing. "Oh, it was one of my favorites to write."

Blanc mirrored her stance. "Any other favorites?"

"Well, I do have a drama trilogy. "The Cold and Damp", "The Candle's Light", and "Helping the Aries". Those were fun to write. It's about a female doctor and she falls in love with a police officer who was involved in a horrible accident and he has to stay in the hospital for months."

"Those also sound like a good read. You must be a very talented individual."

Julia smiled and lowered her head. "You say that now, but if you actually read 'em, you'll see how cheesy they are."

"Well, I must confess," he said, removing his glasses to inspect them before looking into her eyes again, "I do enjoy cheese."

"You must be a romantic," she observed, a slow smile forming on her face.

"Oh, I am completely and utterly hopeless," he teased in a southern drawl before putting his glasses on again.

"Is that so?" she asked, looking down at his lips for a moment before meeting his gaze once more.

"Mmhmm."

Julia instantly noticed how much closer they'd gotten to one another. _"Oh sweet Lord, I need to back the hell up."_

"Detective Blanc, I...um..."

"Yes?"

Julia opened her mouth then snapped it shut. While her mind was telling her to back off, her body was screaming to kiss the man in front of her. Her inner turmoil was driving her up the wall. This was not a good situation for her to be in. She was an accomplice to manslaughter and he was investigating that very crime.

"I...forgot what I was going to say," she whimpered out.

The porch doors opened and the two backed away from each other, both looking shocked before turning to see Marta walking to them.

"What was that about will readings being boring?" she asked Blanc.

He cleared his throat. "The exception that proves the rule," he replied, pulling out a baseball and tossing it in the air.

The doors opened again and Fran came storming out with her coat on her arm. "Asshole," she muttered as she marched off the porch.

Blanc watched her absentmindedly. "I'm warning you," he said, quoting Ransom. "Ransom said, "I'm warning you.""

"Well, you heard Ransom in there," Marta said as one of the dogs ran up to Blanc with something in his mouth. "That's the kind of thing he says."

Julia looked at what the dog had dropped and she blanched. It was the trellis piece.

_"Oh fuck_ _it all!"_

The dog was practically assaulting Blanc's hand with the ball in it. "You want this? You want this?" he cooed to the dog before throwing it on the lawn.

The dog barked and ran, and Julia hoped Blanc wouldn't see it but she knew he would. He looked down at the broken trellis part and his brow furrowed.

"What do we have here?" he asked, bending down to pick it up.

Marta and Julia looked at each other with fright in their eyes. Blanc deftly moved off the porch to walk to the side of the house. Julia and Marta followed close behind. This was definitely not good.

"This looks like a relatively fresh break," he said, looking up at the trellis. "Yep. Right there," he pointed. "Wait a minute. Well, that doesn't make sense. Where's that window?"

Julia closed her eyes. The jig was up for sure. That was the trick window that Julia used to climb into the house. Blanc immediately went running to the porch and the women followed after giving each other sad and knowing looks.

The family was still fighting amongst one another when Blanc, Marta and Julia went running through the hallway and up the stairs. When they got to the second floor, Blanc was mindful to stay off the carpet.

"Show me, but stay off the carpet," he said to Marta.

Marta hopped to one side of the carpet, walking on the hardwood floor rather than the carpet to the end of the corridor. Elliot and Wagner came up behind Julia as Marta opened the wall to reveal a window.

"It's the trick window from "A Kill For All Seasons"," Wagner said with a happy expression.

Marta and Julia looked at each other again. _"We're fucked,"_ Julia thought. Benoit knelt down to the floor and pulled out a small magnifying glass. Julia's eyes settled right on his ass and her heart stopped. _"Oh my God, he has the most perfect ass! Ack, I need to stop oggling him!"_

Julia immediately found something else to look at.

"Ehh, traces of dried mud," Blanc said to himself. "I suspect they go the length of the hallway."

"Footprints?" Marta asked quietly.

"No, just traces."

"Yeah, depending on when this thing was last cleaned," Elliot stated as he knelt down to the floor, "this could have happened at any time, right?"

"No, that would not explain this."

Julia looked over to see Blanc at the window. There was dried mud on the window sill. She bit her lower lip and wrung her hands together. _"Yep. Totally fucked."_

"Analyze that mud," he said, pointing at Elliot. "It will match these traces." Blanc got up. "And you will find similar samples leadin' up the trellis on the outside of the house. On the night of the party, somebody who did not want to be heard clinbing those steps," he pointed in the direction of the stairs before lowering his hand, "went to a great deal of trouble to break into Harlan Thrombey's rooms," he said, looking straight at Julia, which made her gulp hard. "The game is afoot, eh, Watson?"

Julia nodded nervously. "So it would seem, Detective."

* * *

"Well, thank you all for getting together like this," Alan said, sitting behind a desk in the larger study. "It isn't legally necessary, but I thought because you're all in town, and some of you are leaving soon..."

Blanc interrupted Alan. "Excuse me. Uh, I'm sorry. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to gently request that y'all stay in town until the investigation is completed."

The whole family was in the room and Julia was by the doors with Marta. The events from the day so far had Julia's stomach in knots. Here she went from almost kissing the detective to suddenly being a little shunned by him. He hadn't said much to her since he found the mud on the second floor so he had to suspect something.

 _"Perhaps it's for the best that I didn't kiss him,"_ she thought. _"I wouldn't want to put him in a difficult position."_

"Yeah, well, he's gently requesting but I'm gonna have to make that an order," said Lieutenant Elliot. "No one move until we figure this all out."

"What?" Linda asked with a bite in her voice.

"Can we ask why?" Joni said to Blanc. "Has something changed?"

"No," Blanc replied.

"No, it hasn't changed? Or no, we can't ask?"

"Uh, Mr. Stevens," Benoit stammered. "You may continue."

"Right," Alan said. "Well, the other reason I thought this gathering would be, uh, beneficial is because Harlan altered his will a week before he died."

Linda looked over at Ransom, as did some of the others. Julia sighed, watching her brother mess with a chess piece and crossed her arms, leaning against the door frame opposite Marta. Julia's eyes wandered to Blanc's back and she frowned.

"He sealed it. He asked me not to submit it to the courts for probate until after his death. So, if anyone is confused about anything, we're all together, we can talk. Although I don't imagine any of it is going to be that complicated. Uh, Harlan's assets included..."

Julia's mind drifted elsewhere as she studied Blanc's body, her eyes trailing down to his rump. He really did have a nice ass. _"I can just imagine that ass, me grabbing it while he...no, don't finish that thought, Julia. And for gosh sakes, stop staring at him!"_

Julia removed her gaze from him towards the floor while Alan read from the piece of paper he held.

"And of course, the real asset, sole ownership of Blood Like Wine, his publishing company," Alan continued. "He also wrote up a statement..."

"Did you really tell Harlan to keep you out of the will?" Marta asked quietly.

"Yeah," Julia replied. "I'm not that much of a millionaire, but my own money is more than enough for me."

Blanc pivoted to look behind him at Julia. She locked eyes with him for a moment before he turned back around.

""Some of you may be surprised by the choice I've made here"," Alan read from a letter. ""No pleasure was taken in the exclusion. And its purpose was not to sow greater discord in the family, quite the opposite. Please accept it with grace and without bitterness..."

"Are you upset that Ransom got cut from the will?" Marta whispered.

Julia snorted. "Hell no," she whispered back. "In my opinion, this'll be good for him. Learning to fend for himself."

"Will you be there to help him out if he needs it?"

"...Maybe. I dunno. He is my twin, after all."

"Um, wow. Well, yeah, not too complex at all," Alan said. "This will be quick. "I, Harlan Thrombey, being of sound mind and body" and yada-yada-yada..."I hereby direct that all my assets, both liquid and otherwise, I leave in their entirety to...Marta Cabrera.""

Julia's head perked up before looking at Marta. Did she hear that right? Marta looked shocked as all hell.

""My entire ownership of Blood Like Wine publishing, I leave in its entirety to Marta Cabera, the copyright of its catalogue otherwise I leave in its entirety to Marta Cabrera.""

Everyone turned to look at Marta who still looked shocked. Julia's mouth was wide open in surprise. "Marta..." she said.

Marta looked at Julia, her eyes wide. Her mouth opened then shut. The poor woman didn't know what to say.

"Uh," Walt said, standing up. "No. That's not...that's...no."

"No," Linda said as her and Richard stood up.

Everyone in the family except Ransom and Julia surrounded the desk, arguing about how it must be wrong, that it can't be legal, that there must have been a mistake. Blanc was looking at Marta with a look that Julia couldn't place. She heard Ransom laughing and looked at him. He got up and walked towards the door, laughing loudly as he passed by Marta and Julia.

Well, she had to admit, this was a little funny.

More arguing ensued and Julia's mom started yelling. Uh oh. Now Blanc would definitely see that Julia's temper was mild compared to her mother's.

"...and shove it, right up your ass, and get out!" Linda shouted, turning to the cops and waving at them angrily. "And, you cops, too, out! Right now!"

Wagner went to leave but Elliot stopped him. "Hey, Linda?" Richard said, obviously in an attempt to calm her down.

"No, Richard, we need to talk!" Linda barked. "We need to...need to fight this thing! We're not going anywhere!" She pointed at the cops. "I said get out!"

The cops still didn't move abd Julia puckered in her lips, trying hard not to laugh. Now _this_ was really funny.

"We are the Thrombeys, god dammit! This is still our house!"

Julia held a palm to her mouth as she heard what her mother just said. Her statement was highly unlikely, and everyone's faces showed fear as they slowly turned to look at Alan. His assistant pointed at the paper.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry," Alan said, picking it up. ""Likewise the house at 2 Deerborn Drive and all belongings therein, I leave to Marta Cabrera.""

Julia snorted into her hand to contain her laughter. _"Oh, this is rich!_ _"_

"Julia, this isn't funny!" Marta hissed at her.

Linda turned her anger towards Marta. "Oh, you little bitch! You little bitch!" she snarled, walking towards Marta.

"Linda?" Richard pleaded, trying to stop her.

Julia immediately stood in front of Marta to defend her. "Mom, back off!" Julia snapped loudly. "This is not her fault!"

"Did you know about this? Were you in on this from the beginning?" More arguing continued while Blanc backed up to Julia and Marta's side. "No, no, no! I just wanna know," Linda growled, now being held back by her husband. "What were you...what were you doing?! Were you boinking my father?!"

"Mother!" Julia barked out in surprise.

"Boinking?" Meg said.

The yelling became unintelligible at this point and Julia put a hand behind her to hold onto Marta. "Marta, I think you need to go before they kill you," Julia said.

Marta stood frozen. "I think everybody needs to cool their jets," Blanc said with his palms up.

"You had sex with my grandpa, you dirty anchor baby!" Jacob yelled.

Oh, _that_ was it. "Everyone SHUT UP!" Julia screamed. The yelling immediately stopped. "What the hell is wrong with all of you? Especially you, Mother!" she snapped, pointing a finger at Linda. "Don't you think that if Granddad had told Marta about this, that Marta would have spoken up?! Of course she would have! This is Marta we're talking about! She's inmocent in all this!"

This didn't seem to appease anyone and they went back to yelling.

"Hold your horses!" Blanc called out before grabbing Marta by the shoulders. "In the meantime, I'd maybe run."

Julia grasped Marta's hand and they went racing down the hall to the front door. "Come on, let's get you to your car," Julia said.

"Marta?" Joni said behind them.

"Shit," Julia said, opening the door and walking out with Marta right behind her. "Leave her alone, Joni. Can't you tell the poor girl is in shock?"

"Wait, I totally understand-"

"Not now, Joni!" Julia belted out, leading the distraught Marta to her car.

"You cannot leave!" Linda yelled.

"You can talk to me!" Joni shouted politely.

The family came storming out of the house after the two girls and Julia quickly rushed Marta to the car. Marta opened it and got in, then Julia shut it for her.

"Lock the doors!" she exclaimed to Marta. The family surrounded Marta's car, banging on the windows and trying to open the doors. "You're scaring her, stop it!"

"Open the door!" Linda demanded her husband.

"I can't open the damn door!" he yelled.

Julia could see Marta trying to start her car but it wouldn't turn over.

Marta, you have to understand! He is our father!" Walt said outside her window.

"Marta, listen to me."

Marta was still trying to get her car started but the damn thing refused. Julia made a mental note to take Marta car shopping. She noticed Ransom coming around and she ran to his car.

"Ransom, get her out of here!" she yelled at him.

He rolled his eyes in annoyance and pulled up to Marta.

"Marta, don't listen to them. I'm here. I'm not on Twitter anymore."

Ransom honked his horn and gestured to Marta to get in his car. Julia came back and got in people's way as Marta got out and climbed into the beemer. Ransom began pulling away.

"Ransom!" Richard yelled at his son. "What the hell's going on?!"

Ransom smirked as he circled around. "I think this could be the best thing to happen to all of you!" he shouted before driving off.

Julia chuckled into her hand. What a comment that was. "What does he mean by that?" Richard asked, looking at Walt.

Julia burst out laughing and leaned against Marta's car so she wouldn't fall down from laughing so hard. She pressed a hand to her belly, cackling loudly. All of the family stared at her like she grew a second head.

"This isn't funny, Julia!" Linda snapped.

Julia took some deep breaths. "Of course it is! You said to Ransom that you thought this was probably the best thing to happen to him, and now look at you all! Cut off from Granddad's inheritance and Ransom threw that comment back in your faces!"

Julia burst into laughter again and shook her head. "Did you know about this?" Walt asked her.

"No, of course not! I didn't have a clue!"

Walt and Linda glared at her and Richard sighed. "Well, shit," Richard said. "What do we do now?"

Linda scowled at him. "We're gonna fight this thing! We're gonna talk to Alan and fix this whole thing!"

Linda went marching towards the house, as did the others except for Julia. She was still leaning on Marta's car for support. She looked at Blanc who was staring at her from the steps of the house with a somber look. Suddenly she pulled out her book. She _had_ to write this all down. Julia started walking away from the house to the lawn, not paying much attention to anything else except writing down things in her little book.

"Did you know about this?" Blanc said behind her, making her jump and drop her book and pen.

"No," she said, turning around. "I swear I didn't."

"Hmm." Blanc knelt down and picked up her book and pen, then stood up and held them out to her. "You dropped these."

Julia sighed and grabbed them from him, pocketing them in her coat. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Blanc stuffed his hands into his pockets and cleared his throat. "Hell of a play, eh Watson?"

Julia snorted with a nod. "Yes, very much so."

Blanc hummed and circled around her, taking a hand and scratching his eyebrow with a finger. "There's still something that I don't know," he said.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

He got close behind her, his breath hot on her neck. "What's your secret?"

Julia shuddered from the close proximity of the detective. "My secret?" she gasped. Did he know she was the one who climbed the trellis and got into the house from the trick window?

"Yes. Your sinful pleasure."

 _"Oh,_ that _secret,"_ she thought.

A quirk of her lips made a smirk and she turned around to face him. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."

"Oh, I most certainly plan to," he drawled lowly.

"Even after the investigation is over?"

Blanc looked her face over. "Well, usually after my investigations are completed, I move on."

This disappointed Julia. "Oh. Well, maybe I should give you a deadline."

A laugh erupted from Blanc's throat. "Perhaps."

"I'm going to make it extra hard for you, too," she said with a giant grin.

"I do love a challenge."

Julia jerked her head to the side and started walking on then lawn, Blanc staying close to her side. "So, once this case is done, you're just gonna move on to the next one?" she asked, putting her hands behind her back.

"Yes," he said in his baritone voice.

"Do you even live around here?"

"Yes, just a few towns over west of here."

"Huh. Funny that I've never run into you before."

"Well, I only moved here from New York a few months ago."

Julia looked at him with soft eyes. "Well, you should find someone to show you around the place. For example, did you know that there is a movie theater in town here that shows only old films?"

Blanc looked at her, surprise in his eyes. "Really?"

"Mmhmm. And I know how much you like old movies."

Blanc chuckled, scratching at his forehead. "Yes, I do. Any other sites I should be aware of?"

Julia went on about a few other places as they walked around the area and soon is was close to lunch time. Her stomach rumbled and she looked at Blanc with embarassment.

"Heh heh, I guess I'm hungry," she said.

Blanc made a soft chortle as he stared at her stomach. "Sounds like it."

"I'm going to go back to the house and make myself some food. Would you like some lunch, Detective?" she asked him.

"As lovely as that sounds, I need to run into town for a few errands, Miss Drysdale."

"Oh," she said as they neared the house once more. "Well, then I'll see you when you get back?"

"Of course."

Julia walked him to his car and they said their goodbyes before he got in and drove away. She waved at him down the pathway and smiled like a love sick puppy when he went out of sight.

As the day dragged on, Julia spent most of her time in her old room writing down ideas for her book. She'd had a lot since Benoit Blanc had come into her life.

It was near dark when her phone buzzed. She then pulled out her phone and looked at her messages. There was one from Marta.

_Ransom made me tell him everything._

"Shit," Julia said, going to her contacts list and calling her brother. After a couple rings, he answered.

 _"Well hello there, dear sister mine. I heard you've been busy,"_ Ransom said over the phone.

Julia rolled her eyes. "Don't start with me, Ransom. Is Marta with you? Is she okay?"

_"Oh, she's fine. A little shaken up about the will reading, but other than that, she's fine. I'm going to drop her off at home soon."_

"Well, I appreciate that, Ransom. Thank you."

_"You're welcome."_

Julia frowned. There was something very off about his behavior. He never willingly helped anyone. Not this easily, anyway. "Why are you being so helpful all of a sudden?"

There was a pause at the other end of the line.

"Ransom?"

_"Sorry, sis. Anyway, I'm being helpful because, well, you heard about the argument I had with Granddad. Being cut out of the will gave me some clarity, and now I'm gonna have to fend for myself and that feels, well, good, actually."_

Julia wasn't buying it. Her brother was a shallow prick and she knew he was working an angle, but why? To maybe play nice with Marta now that she had a fortune? Then it clicked.

"You're gonna get your cut of the inheritance from Marta for helping us, aren't you?"

Ransom laughed. _"Ah, you know me so well, big sister. But yeah, that's what Marta and I agreed on."_

"Ugh, you're a bastard."

Ransom laughed and the line went dead. Julia blew out a breath of air and walked out of her room. As she descended the staircase, she could hear her family still arguing about the legality of the will.

 _"Jesus, they're still going at it?"_ she thought as she walked in.

"Alan, there have got to be options here," Walt said from the living room.

"No," Alan stated. "I don't know how many times I can repeat the same two pieces of information. If Harlan was of sound mind when he made the changes, and we all confirmed that he was..."

"Would a sound mind do this?!" Richard interrupted loudly. "How...sound how?"

"The very action speaks to unsoundness," Linda observed.

"Not legally, no," Alan argued. "You not liking what he did does not speak to testamentary capacity."

"What about...undue influence?" Jacob piped in.

"Yeah! Undue influence, how about that? Huh?" Walt asked with a growl in his throat.

Alan tilted his head. "Did you just google that?" he asked Jacob.

"Look, if Marta was manipulating Dad somehow and if we found out..."

"If somehow, she had gotten..." Linda began.

"...that somehow she was..."

"...her hooks into him..."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, are you freaking kidding me, Mom! Her hooks?! Marta is the kindest, most gentle person on the planet! She does not have it in her to manipulate anybody!"

Linda swirled around and pointed at her daughter angrily. "You don't know that for sure!"

"Yes I do!" Julia argued. "The girl pukes when she lies, for crying out loud! Does that seem like something a manipulator would do?"

"What about the slayer rule?" Joni interrupted.

Julia and the others looked at the woman. "What?" Julia asked

"I did just google that," Joni said with an eye roll.

"The slayer rule obviously doesn't apply here," Alan said, clasping his hands together.

"Well, what the hell is the slayer rule?" Richard asked.

"Well, it's if someone is convicted of killing the person, they don't get their inheritance," Joni explained.

"Not even convicted," Alan pointed out. "Even if they're held responsible for their death in civil court."

Julia felt her stomach tighten into knots. Well, that definitely didn't sound good at all. But really, her Granddad's death was issued as a suicide. Unless...

 _"Unless they find out that Marta accidentally gave Granddad a hundred milligrams of morphine,"_ she thought with dread. _"And the detective is so close to finding out that he was...killed by her."_

"Like O.J.?" Walt asked.

"Yes. Like O.J.. But Harlan committed suicide," Alan pointed out.

Everyone remained silent. They slowly turned to another section of the room where Blanc was sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace. When did he get back?

"Detective Blanc?" Joni asked as she walked to him, mispronouncing his last name. Julia went after her to gauge Blanc's reaction. "You said the investigation was ongoing. You made a point of that. Do you suspect foul play?"

"Mr. Blanc, if you please," he said, taking a breath in. "There is much that remains unclear, but yes, I suspect foul play."

Julia shut her eyes. She had known that all along, but to hear Blanc actually say it made her stomach tighten up more.

Richard crossed his arms. "Marta?" he asked the detective.

_"This is not good."_

"I have eliminated no suspects," Blanc replied.

_"Marta's going to jail...and I along with her."_

Richard sighed. "You're full of shit. I don't trust this guy in the tweed suit. And Alan," he said, turning toward the man, "God bless you, you're useless."

Julia looked at Blanc with a serious look. He lifted his gaze to her as the family began to clamor again. The look in his eye told her that he knew she was in on whatever happened.

"She has to renounce the inheritance."

"She knows it's the right thing to do."

"That's exactly what she needs to do."

"It's the moral thing."

Julia shook her head, turned on her heel and went to the stairs.

She and Marta were absolutely fucked.


	6. Sinful Pleasures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes. I know. I still need to post a chapter on my other story but it's going slow. As I said, I'm trying to wrap that one up and I'm finding it hard to do.
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos! Let me know what you think so far!

Julia marched to her room, turned on the light and slammed the door behind her. She needed to grab her things and go home. She needed to get out of this house. She needed to run and not look back. And...she knew she was panicking.

_"Okay, I need to calm down. Take deep breaths."_

Julia plopped down on her bed, inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly with her eyes closed. Soon her heart stopped pounding in her ears and she was relaxed.

_"Alright. The detective is suspicious, yes, but he has nothing concrete. Otherwise he would have confronted me by now."_

After taking some more breaths, Julia grabbed her overcoat and walked to the bedroom door. When she opened it, she gasped in surprise.

Blanc was in front of her.

"Miss Drysdale," he said, calm and collected. "Are you going somewhere?"

Julia grasped her coat tightly. "Just going home, Detective."

"Hmm." He lowered his head a little bit, looking down at her and keeping his gaze on her face. "Will you be returning here tomorrow?"

"I...don't see why I won't be," she stammered lightly.

"Do you have plans for the morning?"

Julia squinted her eyes at him, feeling suspicious of what he was asking. "No. Why?"

Suddenly the man looked unsure of himself. "I'd very much appreciate it if you joined me for coffee tomorrow morning. I have a few more questions for you."

Julia raised a brow. "And you can't ask me now?"

The man's cheeks turned slightly red, looking very unsure of himself now. A suspicious thought appeared in Julia's mind. _"Wait, is he...is he asking me out on a date? No...there's no way. I'm a suspect in his investigation and it would be inappropriate."_

"I merely thought that you might need a good night's rest before I barrage you with questions, Miss Drysdale," he said.

Julia shrugged. "No need. You can ask me now." She sidestepped so that Blanc could come in. "We can do it here, if you'd like." A playful smirk appeared on his face and Julia's face went white. "I mean...you can ask me the questions here. Not...oh dear."

Blanc laughed a little as he walked in. "It's perfectly fine. I know what you meant," he said, ambling over to a chair and placing it in front of the bed.

Julia closed her eyes, reaming with embarassment. She turned to the bed and sat across from Blanc, clasping her hands together and putting them between her legs. "So, ask away, Detective."

Blanc put a leg over the other and crossed his arms. "Miss Drysdale, you said that Miss Cabrera drove ahead of you when you both left the party, correct?"

"Yes."

"Strange. Miss Cabrera said that you were ahead of her when you both left."

_"Oh fuck."_

"She did? Well...maybe I was. I don't quite remember for sure, I was pretty out of it. It was after midnight, after all," Julia said.

"And yet you remember seeing her leave the premises?"

Julia felt her palms start to sweat. "Yes."

"Well, was she before you or after you?"

_"Oh God, what do I say? She was definitely ahead of me because I didn't want her to see me pull over so she'd lose her nerve."_

"...I'm almost certain she was ahead of me."

"Hmm." Blanc scratched at his chin. "And, well, my other question is simply this." He inched forward and leaned on his knees, looking at Julia intensely. "What's your secret?"

Julia laughed. "I'm still not telling you my sinfu-"

"Not that secret. The other one."

Julia's happy face dropped. "My other secret?"

"Yes."

"I have no other secret," she said quietly.

"Yes you do. You know something about Harlan's death, don't you? You know because you were there the moment he slit his throat."

Julia gulped. "Why would you even say that?"

Blanc looked down at her shoes. "Because yesterday, there was blood on your boots."

Julia blinked. She had, in fact, worn her boots yesterday and she remembered that he had looked down at her feet. "That could've been from anywhere, Detective."

"Can you account for it?"

"Yes."

Blanc looked surprised. "Then where did it come from?"

_"Think of something. Anything. Ah, I got it!"_

"Paint, Detective Blanc. I was doing a paint job on my Pontiac this last week." This was, in fact, true. Mostly. The paint job had happened almost a month ago, but she'd still done it.

"What kind of paint job?"

"I was painting the engine block."

Blanc raised a brow. "The engine block?"

"Yes. All the color had chipped off so I was basically restoring it. It's red."

"Oooh, I see," Blanc said. "That would certainly make sense, but why would you wear your boots? Those were pretty expensive looking boots."

Julia shrugged. "They're just boots. Thank you for bringing it to my attention that I had paint on my boot."

"You're welcome." Blanc stood up suddenly. "Might I see this engine block of yours?" he asked confidently.

"Now?" Julia asked with her eyes bugging out.

"Yes. If it's not too much trouble, of course. I know the hour is late, but-"

Julia stood up and grabbed her coat. "No, it's fine. We can go now."

"Excellent."

They both walked from the room after Julia turned off the light. They walked down the hallway and descended the very loud, creaky stairs. They left the house and walked to their cars.

"My house is just a few miles away. Won't take long to get there," Julia mentioned.

"Only a few miles, huh?" Blanc asked. "You liked being in close proximity to your grandfather?"

"Yes. He and I were quite close."

Julia got into her car and Blanc got into his, then they drove away from the house, down the path, and onto the main road. She looked behind her to see Blanc's headlights and she grinned. Hopefully this meant he'd eliminate her as a suspect once he saw the paint job.

_"Then maybe we could...no, I better not get involved with him. He's...well, maybe after the investigation, we could...no, again, better not. I can't form a relationship with this lie over my head."_

The very thought made Julia sad. Shame, she had really wanted to get to know the detective better.

After driving for a while, Julia turned to the road her house was on. Eventually she got to her driveway and pulled in, pressing the garage button and opening her four car garage. Julia turned off her car and got out, waiting for Blanc behind her. He got out and they both walked to the garage. Once they were there, Julia grabbed the keys for her red Pontiac Firebird and unlocked the car, popping the hood via the hood lock. She shut the door and walked to the front, reached under the hood, slid the lock out of place and lifted the hood. And there it was. A red engine block.

Blanc whistled. "That sure is a beauty. You did a nice job, it looks so original."

"Thank you," she said with a grin.

"Is this a manual transmission?"

"Yes. So is the Dodge Charger."

Blanc looked over at the dark blue Charger and smiled. "You really do love vintage muscle cars, huh?"

"Yes, I do."

"And the CRV?" he asked, pointing to the red Honda. "A '97, you said?"

Julia shrugged. "The 90's was a good decade for Hondas. Actually, she was my first car."

"Your first car? And you still have it?" Blanc said, a surprised look on his face.

"What can I say? I'm sentimental."

Blanc walked over to the side of the car and chuckled. "What does "N7" mean?"

Julia smiled at the memory. She'd painted a white N7 on a red and black background onto her car a while back. "It's from a video game."

Blanc lifted his head and raised a brow. "What?" he chuckled. "You play video games?"

All the blood drained from Julia's face. "Um, yes. Dammit."

"What?"

"That's my sinful pleasure. Video games," she said with an unsure expression.

Blanc smiled. "Do you have a large collection?"

_"Oh God."_

"...Yes. In my basement."

Blanc smiled brightly. "Show me."

"...Pardon?"

"I'd like to see your collection. Show me."

Julia's cheeks turned bright red. "Well, I...okay."

Julia put the hood down on her Pontiac and walked to the wall, pressing the garage door opener. With a slight squeak and a whirring, the garage door started closing. She motioned for the detective to follow her and they walked through the door into the house. Inside was her large kitchen with a small island in the middle.

"Wow. You have a very beautiful kitchen," said Blanc in astonishment.

"Thanks," she said. "The basement is just over here."

Julia walked across the way and opened and a wooden door that led to a brown carpeted stairway. She walked down with Blanc trailing behind her. As she got to the bottom she turned on the lights to reveal a vast basement with a fireplace, a bar, a red couch, two blue chairs, red shag carpeting, a large flat screen tv, and a plethora of video games and gaming consoles on multiple shelving units. There was another separate shelf that held books. Julia felt shy about it but Blanc just looked around, seeming impressed.

"Sweet beans," he uttered.

Julia laughed a little. "Yeah, it's a bit...the games are a bit much, aren't they..."

"No, not at all," he answered with a comforting tone, walking over to the shelves and checking out everything. "Hmm, even in alphabetical order..."

"By system order, too," she pointed out, walking to him and motioning to each section. "Atari, N64, NES, Super NES, Wii, Playstation 1 through 4, Xbox through Xbox One, Sega Genesis...it goes on and on, really."

"Quite the hobby." He pulled a game out and examined it. "Red Dead Redemption 2?"

"Yeah, that's one of my favorites," Julia said with a sheepish grin.

"Hmm." He put it back and turned to her, putting his hands in his pockets. "Well, Miss Drysdale, you just keep surprisin' me."

Julia laughed, crossing her arms and looking down at her shoes. "Yes, well..."

"Are you embarassed, Miss Drysdale?"

Julia shrugged, refusing to look up. "I guess so. I don't just show _anybody_ my game collection."

"You don't?"

Julia realized what she just said and blushed profusely, looking up at him with wide eyes. "I mean...that is to say...well, you did want to take a look."

Blanc arched a brow. "You could've declined."

"I could've."

"Yet you did not," he observed, stepping closer to her while looking into her eyes. "Why?"

"Well..." Julia frowned, avoiding his gaze. "I guess you're not just anybody, Detective Blanc," she mumbled.

He sure as shit wasn't, but why would she even admit that to him? They'd only known each other two days yet she never felt so fascinated by a man like this before. He was interesting. Intelligent. Charming. A real gentleman. That was why she liked him so much already.

But Julia was still a suspect and she couldn't pursue anything with this man because she'd lied to him about her involvement with Harlan's demise. She had to put a stop to all this flirting. It was getting out of hand.

"Detective Blanc, I-" she said, looking up at him to find a soft expression on his face.

"Julia," he whispered huskily.

_"Oh God..."_

Just hearing him say her name threatened her determination to end things before they began.

_"I want him so bad..."_

Julia felt her body temperature rising as they stared each other down. Her heart was beating in her ears and her stomach had butterflies in it.

_"Screw it, just kiss him already!"_

Suddenly a phone started ringing and Julia was pulled from her lusty haze. Blanc closed his eyes, puffed out some air and dug into his pockets. He pulled out his phone, looking at the screen with a frown.

"I apologize, Miss Drysdale, I must take this call," he said regretfully.

"Oh, no, it's fine. Go ahead," she said, turning from him and walking to the bar.

She needed a drink after all that.

Julia walked around, pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured herself a shot before downing it. She glanced at Benoit to see his back to her while on the phone.

"Yes, of course, Sarah. I'll be right over," he said before hanging up.

 _"Who the fuck is Sarah?"_ she thought.

Maybe it was his girlfriend.

Or his _wife._

Blanc turned to face Julia with a sigh. "I do apologize again, but I must get going. I have a family emergency to deal with."

Julia nodded. "Of course." She automatically glanced at his left hand. No wedding band. "I'll, uh, I'll walk you out, Detective."

They both climbed the stairs and Benoit followed behind Julia as she led him to the front door. She opened it and backed away so he could walk by. He did, but then he paused and turned to her.

"Thank you...for showin' me your game collection. It's quite impressive," he said with a smile.

Julia didn't dare look at him. "You're welcome," she uttered. "Well, you have a nice night, Detective Blanc."

When she finally glanced up at him, his brow was furrowed. "Yes. You too, Miss Drysdale."

Benoit Blanc walked away from the door and Julia shut it, leaning her back against it and sliding down to sit and hold her head.

 _"Of course the man has a girlfriend. Any woman in her right mind would chase after him. Late to the party, Julia, but it's for the best,"_ she thought to herself.

Then why did she feel so hurt?

* * *

Julia woke up the next morning, not in the best of moods. She did her morning routine, brushing her hair and teeth, changing into day clothes of a blue woolen sweater and black jeans with her tennis shoes before getting into her Dodge Charger. She was going to drive that one today. As she pulled out of the driveway and made towards the main road, her thoughts from last night hit the forefront of her mind but she quickly suppressed them. She took a left, deciding to go into town. She had a craving for waffles.

Julia drove into town to find the diner that she'd gone to yesterday, but when she pulled in she noticed Blanc's car was there.

_"Shit."_

Well, she could find another place, but this one had the best waffles in town. With a huff of air, she got out and walked to the door. She stopped at one of the windows, however. There was Blanc, sitting in a booth with another woman. They both looked like they were having a good time. Her heart sank into her stomach at the sight.

_"I bet that's Sarah..."_

Blanc turned his head to see Julia out the window and he looked surprised. Julia looked at him, then at the woman, then back at Blanc with a sad expression. She immediately turned around and went walking back towards her car. As she fumbled in her pocket for her keys, she heard her name being called but she ignored it.

"Julia! Julia, wait!"

She shoved her key into the keyhole, unlocked her car and got in.

"Julia, stop!"

She turned the engine over and pulled out of the parking with a screeching of her tires and a loud rumbling of her engine. Julia wasn't trying to be dramatic. She was just trying to get away. She looked in her rearview mirror to see Blanc growing smaller.

God, she was so embarassed. So ashamed of herself for letting her feelings develop for the detective. He was involved with someone else. Julia slammed her hand on the wheel.

"I'm so stupid!" she shouted at herself. Her phone started ringing and she reached into her pocket to look at it. "Maybe: B. Blanc. How the hell did he get my number?"

Julia swiped "decline" on her phone and put it back into her pocket. She wasn't about to answer the phone and talk to the man. She felt like the biggest idiot on the planet right now.

Her phone rang again but she ignored it. Couldn't the detective take the hint? It continued to ring in her pocket. Out of frustration, she grabbed it and accepted the call.

"Look, Detective, you don't need to explain anything to me about what I just saw, I get it. I-"

_"Julia_ _?"_

Julia blinked. "Oh. Marta. Hi."

_"What happened with the detective?"_

Julia sighed. "Nothing important. What's up?"

_"Could you come to Ransom's house? We need to talk."_

"...What the hell are you doing at Ransom's house?"

_"I'll explain when you get here. Just come, please."_

Julia stopped on the road and made a U-turn. "Alright, I'm on my way."

* * *

Julia held the piece of paper in her hand, reading the message over and over.

_I know WHAT you did._

Julia looked at the header. It was the toxicology report on her grandfather, though the results were missing. How did someone get this?

"Marta, this was sent to you?" Julia asked, taking her eyes off the paper to look at Marta.

Marta nodded her head, holding her fingers to her mouth. "Uh huh."

Julia frowned. "Weird. Why didn't I get one?"

"Maybe they don't know you're involved, Julia," Ransom pointed out. "I mean, what kind of blackmail scheme is this? I mean, the actual evidence is sitting up the street, at the crime lab. There's no demands, no meeting place." Ransom shook his head and looked at Marta. "What's the point in sending you that?"

Julia started pacing back and forth. "I don't know, but what do we do?"

Ransom sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I say we go to the crime lab and destroy the evidence."

Julia stopped and looked at her brother, bug-eyed at such a suggestion. "You can't be serious! Someone will see us for sure!"

"You got a better idea?" he asked, looking back at his sister from over his shoulder.

"...Well, no, but-"

"Then it's settled." Ransom got up and walked to Julia. "We'll take Marta's car. It's less conspicuous. I call shotgun."

Julia frowned deeper when her brother passed her by and she looked at Marta. She was obviously just as concerned. They followed Ransom out to Marta's car, got in and took off.

"So, what was it that the detective didn't need to explain? What did you see him doing?" Marta asked as she drove.

Julia rolled her eyes in the backseat. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Ransom looked behind at his sister then at Marta. "What are you talking about?"

Marta chuckled. "Julia's got the hots for the detective."

Ransom's jaw dropped and looked at Julia. She was blushing profusely. Ransom started cackling and clapped his hands. "I don't believe it. You got a crush on Detective Kentucky Fried Chicken?"

"Shut up," Julia growled.

Ransom laughed even harder. "Oh, that's even better than the will reading," he chuckled. "Julia and KFC, sittin' in a tree..."

"Don't you start that shit, Ransom, or I'll box your ears!" Julia snapped loudly.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"I said shut up!"

"First comes love, then comes marr-" Julia leaned up and grabbed Ransom's ear before yanking on it. Hard. "Ow, owowowow! Okay okay, I'll stop!" Julia sat back in her seat and crossed her arms tightly. "Come on, tell us what happened," Ransom said.

Julia huffed and slumped in her seat. "I showed him my cars and my gaming collection."

Ransom's brow crinkled upwards. "Seriously? Wow," he said, facing forward. "You must really like him. So, did anything happen?"

"Almost, but then he got a call from someone named Sarah and he had to leave. Then this morning, I went to the diner to have waffles and he was there with a woman, so I left."

"Did he try going after you?" Marta asked with a frown on her face.

"Yes. He even called me by my first name."

"Wait, why would he go after you?" Ransom asked.

"Because he likes Julia, too. They've been flirting like no tomorrow," Marta explained. "Julia, are you sure this woman isn't a relative or something?"

"Does it matter?" Julia asked. "Even if she is, I can't pursue anything with him. I've been lying to him and I can't...be with him knowing that I lied. Anyway," Julia sighed. "It's probably for the best."

Ransom looked back at his sister with a sad face. "Well, I'm sorry, sis. Really, I am."

Julia smirked at her brother. "Thank you."

Ransom faced forward once more as they turned down the road where the crime lab was supposed to be. Julia was still slumped in her seat when Marta stopped.

"Holy shit," she said.

Julia perked up. "What is it?"

"Look!"

Julia glanced out her window to see that the crime lab was...destroyed? There were camera crews and fire trucks everywhere and firemen were dousing the building with water from their hoses. All three of them crouched in their seats. Just then, Julia's phone started ringing and she pulled it out. It was Blanc. She declined it and put it back in her coat pocket.

"This is insane," Marta whispered. "I mean, who would blow up a whole real building just to blackmail me?"

"Marta, this means the blackmailer has the only paper copy of the thing that can prove your guilt," Ransom pointed out.

"You mean our guilt," Julia added. "I'm not gonna let Marta go down alone if it comes to it."

Ransom and Marta looked back at her. "Julia, I don't think-"

"I mean it, Ransom. She's not going down alone. We were seen leaving the house together. There's no way my guilt can be hidden now."

Marta frowned at her friend. "I'm sorry, Julia."

Julia smiled sadly and put a hand to Marta's shoulder. "It's okay."

Julia looked back at the scene before her and a lump formed in her throat.

The detective was there and he was using his phone. Her phone started ringing again. It was Blanc. Julia kept her eyes on him while Ransom and Marta kept talking. Blanc turned and looked at Marta's car.

"Marta, if you destroy that copy, you're totally in the clear," Ransom said.

"Oh shit," Julia said as Blanc started walking towards them. "The detective is coming!"

Marta and Ransom looked up to see the detective heading straight to them. Suddenly Marta put the car in drive and stepped on the gas. With a screeching of the tires, Marta turned the car around and went racing up the road.

"Marta, what are you doing?" Julia asked. "The detective _saw us!_ We just look guilty driving away!"

They got onto the main road and Marta was still flooring it. "I don't...I don't know what else to do!"

"Okay, baby driver," Ransom said in shock.

"Oh, God. You regret helping us yet?"

"I regret not taking the Beemer."

Sirens wailed behind them and Julia turned in her seat to look back. They were getting chased.

"Oh shit," Marta whispered.

A buzzing sounded and Julia looked at Marta's phone. Blanc was calling her. Marta grabbed it and declined the call.

"Go, go, go! Are you flooring it?" Ransom asked loudly in a panic.

"I am literally flooring it!" Marta snapped.

Marta's cell phone started buzzing again and Julia looked outside to see one of the cop cars...with Blanc's head hanging out the window. The horn was honking and Blanc was pointing to his phone, then he spotted Julia in the backseat and his jaw dropped.

"This is going well," Ransom said.

"I'm pulling over!" Marta shrieked.

"If you miss your chance to get this tox report, it's all over."

Julia still had her eyes fixated on Blanc who was still looking at her. She had an apologetic expression on her face, wanting to tell him how sorry she was. For everything. For the lying and for running away from him, both at the diner and now. She wished nothing more than to tell him the truth.

Marta slammed on the brakes and all the cars flew by them.

"Why, why, why are we stopping?!" Ransom demanded. "Why are you stopping in the middle of the road?"

Marta stepped on the gas again and turned off on the exit towards town. They were driving quickly, Marta doing her best to avoid pedestrians and other cars.

"Jesus, Marta! Where are we going?!" Julia asked.

"We have to get to that meeting!" Marta yelled.

"What meeting?"

"The blackmailer sent her an email to meet somewhere at ten. God, Julia, where have you been?" Ransom said to his sister in an upset tone.

"Hold on," Marta said as she turned left into an alley.

Ransom was hanging onto the car for dear life while Julia was gripping tightly to her seat. Marta turned into a parking lot then another alley. She got out of the alley and drove around some more through back alleys and employee parking lots until finally stopping by some shopping carts. Julia sighed in relief. Finally.

"Oh my God, I'm just pure adrenaline right now. I feel like I swallowed bees!" Marta exclaimed. "Okay...so where is it? What's the address?"

"1209 Columbus Road," Ransom replied.

"Okay, I mean whatever they want, I'll say yes..."

"Anything."

Marta started the car up again. "You know, just to get that report back."

Julia buried her face in her hands. This was insane. Ransom and Marta were talking about destroying the tox report while Julia was doing her best to calm down. Suddenly there was a knock on the window and Julia lifted her head to see Detective Blanc outside Marta's door.

_"Crap."_


	7. The Game Is Afoot

Marta, Ransom and Julia all got out of the car with their hands up. Elliot was standing by the cruiser behind Marta's car. Julia did her best to not look at Blanc but she knew he was definitely looking at her.

"That was the dumbest car chase of all time," Elliot said. "Put your hands down."

Julia and the others did as they were told. "I spoke to Wanetta Thrombey, Greatnana. Night of the party, she saw someone climbin' the trellis to the third floor," Blanc explained.

Julia gulped. _"Oh no. Greatnana saw me, I remember that. But...she'd called me Ransom."_

"Mr. Drysdale, come on," Elliot commanded.

"Let's go," Wagner said as he walked to Ransom.

_"_ _What?"_

"Pat him down, check him out."

Wagner did as he was told and made Ransom walk to the police car. Julia turned to the detective. "Detective, why are they arresting my brother?"

""Ransom came back," she said. I don't know what he came back to do, but we'll find out," the detective said, looking Julia in the eye behind his sunglasses. He looked to Marta. "Did he ask you to drive when he saw me comin'?"

Marta swallowed. "Yes," she said before getting into the car.

"Well, this is the second time I've had to chase you today, but I'm glad I caught you the second time," he said with a smile. Julia ignored him and went to get in the car but Blanc stopped her. "Miss Drysdale, about earlier, I-"

Julia looked at him with a glare. "Really, Detective Blanc, you don't need to explain-"

"Blanc, you coming with us?" Elliot asked.

Benoit shook his head. "I'll drive with Marta," he said before looking at Julia once more. "Yes, I do need to explain. That woman at the diner was my-"

Julia held her hand up. "I don't care who she is, it doesn't matter," she said before opening the car door.

"Well why not?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

"Because your personal life is none of my business," Julia growled before getting into the car and slamming the door shut.

Marta looked back at her. "I think you should hear him out," she said.

Julia chuckled bitterly as she buckled up. "Like I said earlier, it doesn't matter and it's all for the best."

Blanc got into the passenger seat. "Let's go to the police station. I want a full rundown on everything he said to both of you," he said buckling up his seatbelt. "I'll catch you up on where we're at."

 _"Oh great,"_ Julia thought.

Marta started the car and pulled out of the area to follow the squad cars, Benoit explaining what had happened. Julia didn't bother listening. After that, everyone kept silent for most of the way until they crossed the bridge in town.

"Strange case from the start," Benoit said. "A case with a hole in the middle. A donut."

Julia snorted. "I'm sorry, a donut?"

Blanc removed his glasses. "I'm just talking through my process here, let me know if this is boring."

"No, please continue, Detective," Julia said, somewhat curious to hear him speak.

He looked back at her with a soft smile before turning forward. "I feel a noose tightening. The family is truly desperate. Desperate motives, the mystery of who hired me, the impossibility of the crime, and yet...a donut." Julia knuckled her chin, resting her elbow on her knee as she listened to the lull of Blanc's voice. "One central piece and if it reveals itself, the fog would lift, the arc would resolve, the Slinky become unkinked..."

"Do you mind if I stop for a second?" Marta asked. "I need to pick something up. It'll be very quick."

"Sure," Blanc said, putting on his sunglasses.

Julia blinked. _"What the hell is she picking up?"_

Marta made a left turn and drove down what Julia saw was Columbus Road. Huh. What was down here that Marta needed to pick up? Eventually Marta parked outside a salon. She turned the car off and unbuckled.

"It'll be just a few minutes," she said before getting out.

"Watch the, uh..." The door shut. "...door," Blanc said as Marta rushed towards the salon.

 _"What does she need here?"_ Julia thought to herself.

"Miss Drysdale," Blanc said. "We need to talk."

"About what?" she asked him a little coldly.

He turned to look at her, taking off his glasses. "You know what."

Julia scoffed and turned her head away. "Like I said, your personal life is none of my business."

Julia was still looking away when a door shut and another opened. She turned and watched Blanc get into the seat next to her. "Listen, you must let me explain-"

"You don't have to explain anything!" Julia snapped at him.

"Well, based on your aggression towards me, I think I do!" he exclaimed.

Julia frowned at him. "Alright, fine. I'm mad at you. I admit that, but I have no right to be considering...I..." she paused, not sure what else to say."

"Considerin' what?"

Julia unbuckled and turned her body towards him. "Considering I am a suspect in a murder case and you are the very person investigating that case, it'd be highly inappropriate if I..."

"If you what?"

"If I was upset with you for being with another woman," Julia said, sighing in contempt and leaning back in the seat.

Blanc chuckled. "She's not another woman, Miss Drysdale. She's my sister-in-law."

Julia blinked madly before looking at Blanc. "What?"

Blanc leaned towards Julia. "That woman, Sarah, is my sister-in-law. She called me when I was with you to inform me that my brother was in a car accident and was taken to the hospital."

Julia blinked again. "...Oh. Is he okay?"

"He suffered a broken arm and a concussion but he'll be fine. I decided to treat Sarah to breakfast this mornin'. She'd had a rough go of it, you see."

Julia felt her face go red with embarrasment. Here she was, acting like an idiot over nothing. Marta was right. Blanc made her impulsive. "...I suppose I owe you an apology, then," she said, looking away from him.

"That's alright," he said with a chuckle. "An apology is not necessary."

"It's not?"

"No, my dear, it is not."

Julia dared to look at him. She still felt like a fool, but he was making her feel better about it, at least. A slow smile formed on her face as she looked into his eyes. "So...what happened when I left the diner?"

"I tried to call you. Sarah asked me what was goin' on and...I explained everything to her."

Julia cocked her head to the side. "Explained what?"

Benoit Blanc took a deep breath. "I explained how you make me feel, Miss Drysdale."

This surprised Julia. "And how do I make you feel?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

"From the moment I saw you, I was enchanted. And for the two days I've known you, you have been on my mind a considerably large amount of time."

Julia smiled a little. "Really?"

"Yes. Despite my better judgement of not fraternizing with suspects on a case, I have a very difficult time reining in my urges towards you."

Julia arched a brow and gave a sly grin. "What urges are we talking about here?"

Blanc let out a sensual chuckle that made Julia's stomach twirl. "Well, I-" They were interrupted by sirens and they both looked behind them to see two paramedics leaving an ambulance. "Oh, Lord," Blanc said, getting out of the car.

Julia followed him out of the car and saw the paramedics go into an abandoned laundromat. The address on it was 1209. That was the same number that Ransom had said for the meeting place of the blackmailer, wasn't it?

"Oh shit," she said, running to the window to see Marta giving CPR to someone.

It was Fran.

The paramedics moved Marta out of the way and Julia watched as Marta came out of the laundromat. This was shocking. Was Fran the blackmailer? No, she couldn't be. But what had happened in there?

"Marta, what's wrong with Fran?" Julia asked.

"She overdosed on morphine. I never would have taken her for a user," Marta said.

Blanc looked between the two of then, a suspicious look on his face. "What exactly is happenin' here, Miss Cabrera? How did you happen upon Fran in an abandoned building?" Marta kept her mouth shut, not saying a word. Blanc frowned and looked at Julia. "Julia? Did you know about this?"

Julia bowed her head, feeling ashamed of herself. She couldn't look the man in the eye. Not after what just happened. Oh, what he must think of her now. She started wringing her hands together and she bit her lower lip.

"...Julia? Talk to me," he said in a calm tone.

She couldn't. She absolutely couldn't. With tears in her eyes she looked up at Blanc. "I can't," she almost sobbed.

Blanc put his hands in his pockets with a disappointed look on his face. "I see..."

"Detective, I'd like to go with Fran to the hospital," Marta said.

"That can be arranged, of course," Benoit said as Julia walked to the car.

She got in the back seat and dried her eyes. Soon Marta and Blanc got into the car and Julia looked out the window.

The whole drive to the hospital was as silent as the grave and Julia kept going over in her head how Blanc had confessed his feelings for her. Clearly, those were gone now. They had to be. Occasionally she'd glance at the back of his head before turning away to look out the window again. This whole thing was an insane mess and now Fran was hurt. Why would she overdose on morphine if she'd been blackmailing Marta, though? And why hadn't she involved Julia in the blackmailing? Surely, she must've known what Julia did. Helping Marta cover up an accidental overdose of her Granddad. She didn't necessarily regret helping Marta, but she did regret how Blanc must feel about her now.

Soon they arrived at the hospital and Julia and Blanc sat down in the waiting room while Marta went and gave her information. The two didn't speak. At least not for a bit. Blanc was the one to break the silence.

"Miss Drysdale..." he uttered. "I'd really appreciate it if you came clean with me."

Julia shut her eyes and turned her head away from him. She couldn't bring herself to do it, to incriminate Marta. If it had only been herself, Julia would have done it in a heartbeat, but she couldn't betray Marta.

Blanc's phone rang and he answered it. "Detective Blanc," he said. "Oh, Lieutenant Elliot. Have you any good news for me?"

Marta came back to sit down between Blanc and Julia. Julia looked over at Marta. "Is Fran going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Marta replied sadly. "Doctor said it's fifty fifty at this point."

Julia nodded and sighed, running her hands through her hair. "This is all so insane," she said. "So fucking insane."

"I know. Julia, I think...I think we should tell the detective the truth," she whispered.

Julia looked at Marta in shock. "You sure?"

"Yes," she said. "Let's wait for him to get off the phone and then we'll tell him."

"Okay," Julia said with a sad tone. "I'm with you on this."

They held hands and smiled depressingly at each other before looking over at the detective. Blanc glanced at them both with a frown.

"I see. Mmhmm...alright, my friend. Thank you for the update," he said on the phone, still looking at them. "Uh, no need for that. I'll bring them in once we get word that the housekeeper is stable. It's still touch and go." Blanc paused for a moment. "Alright." Blanc hung up the phone and looked at Marta.

"Listen, this is over," Marta said, her leg bouncing up and down. "People are getting hurt..." Marta was silent for a moment, swallowing hard. "So we're gonna tell you the truth."

"Young Ransom just told Lieutenant Elliot everything, who just told me everything," Blanc said soberly, looking once again at Julia.

"Good. Wait, I hope he didn't cover for us," Marta said.

"Ha!" Julia laughed bitterly. "Yeah right."

"Did he tell you the real truth, about me switching the-"

"Yeah," Blanc said with a sigh.

"And the disguise bit?"

"Yes."

"And the whole blackmail and-"

"Mmhmm."

"But why did Fran take my morphine?" Marta asked rhetorically. "I mean, obviously she had swiped the bag from the house, but she didn't seem like a user to me, unless that's why she needed the blackmail money." Marta groaned. "I don't know, it doesn't matter anyway. I...we have to tell the Thrombeys ourselves, I feel like we owe that to them."

Julia nodded. "Yeah, I...I think we-"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Blanc interrupted with a sour face.

"No, we have to do it. We _need_ to do it," Julia said hurriedly.

"Julia-"

"No, it's settled. We're telling my family everything. Our minds are made up, Detective."

Benoit Blanc gave her a sad look and Julia mirrored it. This was so sad. She knew that her family just might help her get out of this, that is if they weren't too mad at her for helping Marta cover up the truth. She'd have the best lawyers for sure, but what about Marta? She would have nothing. Nobody. And God, Julia was going to be arrested for being an accomplice. Again, she's probably be out of jail in no time due to her connections. Hell, even with her own money, she could afford a good lawyer. And if the family didn't help Marta, then Julia would.

But what about the detective? Could he ever think of her the same again? Even if he could, could she bear to form a relationship with him knowing that she'd lied to him? Probably not. Julia turned her gaze away, not able to stand the judgment in Blanc's eyes.

"I gave the doctors my number, so they'll call me if anything changes with Fran," Marta said.

"Alright," Benoit said softly. "I'll round up the Thrombeys at the house, along with a police escort."

"For the arrest after." Julia grabbed Marta's hand and squeezed reassuringly.

"You both can tell me your whole story on the drive over. I don't want any more surprises," he said, looking hard at Julia.

The three stood up and walked out of the hospital to the parking lot. As they made their way to the car, Julia felt eyes on her and she looked over her shoulder at Benoit. He was staring at her in confusion. Betrayal, even. She _had_ betrayed him and it made her feel awful. Once they were at Marta's car, Julia went to get in but Blanc grasped her arm, making her freeze in place.

"Miss Drysdale," he said softly. "A word in private?"

Julia slowly turned her head to him and nodded. "Okay."

Marta got into the car to wait while the two talked. "I understand why you took part in this, I do. But I must inquire...why couldn't you let me in on your secret?"

"To protect my friend, Detective Blanc," she replied casually.

"You should have told me."

"I know. But...it was an accident, Detective Blanc. She shouldn't have to go to jail for an accident."

"I couldn't agree more, but the law is the law, Miss Drysdale."

Julia nodded curtly before sighing. "Any other questions?"

Benoit looked as if he had so many questions to ask, but he only chose one. "Was our...connection real to you at all, or were you just trying to prevent me from arriving at the terminus of the rainbow?"

Julia's mouth parted in surprise. Even after all this, he wanted to know how she felt about him? Why? What did it matter to him? It shouldn't matter to him.

"Yes, it was very real to me, Detective."

The detective's lip quirked up into a smirk. "Heh, I really want to believe you."

Julia's heart dropped. Of course he wouldn't believe her. How could he? She'd lied about something so major. Still, this hurt her. A lot. "I understand if you don't believe me but I'm telling the truth."

Benoit nodded, taking off his sunglasses to clean a smudge on them. "Miss Drysdale, I have no further questions."

With a nod of her head, Julia got into the car. Blanc went around the other side and got in the front passenger seat. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Marta began telling the truth about the night Harlan died. When she got to the part about them both leaving the party, Blanc stopped her.

"Alright, Miss Drysdale. It is your turn now," he said.

Julia stared out the window as she talked about pulling over, about her trek to the house, about climbing the trellis, about putting on her grandfather's robe and woolen hat to go downstairs and fool her uncle into thinking Granddad was alive, about changing out and climbing down the trellis. When she got to the part about Greatnana calling her Ransom, Blanc quieted her.

"I'm sorry. She mistook you for Ransom?" he asked.

Julia turned her head to see him looking at her in surprise. "Yeah, she said, "Ransom, are you back again already?" and then I left, got to my car and drove home."

Blanc turned back to face forward. "...This case, there's somethin' that feels off. It still feels like a donut."

Julia couldn't help but laugh. "Is it glazed, frosted, sugary or old fashioned?"

Blanc turned back with a bright smile. "I haven't decided yet."

They made eye contact and for a few seconds, Julia forgot that she was an accomplice to a crime. She forgot about her Granddad being dead, about the car chase...every bad thing that had happened in the past week dissolved in her mind when she looked into his bright blue eyes. He made her feel warm inside, like nothing bad could ever happen to her again.

Then he looked away and Julia felt sad. She turned and looked back out the window with a frown on her face.

"Miss Cabrera, please continue," Benoit urged politely.

Most of the conversation faded in and out of Julia's consciousness. She didn't care to listen because she already knew the story. As they got close to the estate, though, Julia's ears picked up on bits and pieces.

"...said there was a copy..."

"...copy?"

"...the toxicology report, yes."

"...where is it?"

Julia looked forward. They were now at the estate. "Fran said it was stashed, the copy, and then she said, "you did this. You won't get away with it," and I called the ambulance. That's it," Marta explained sadly.

"Alright," Benoit said with a nod of his head. He looked back at Julia. "You both ready?"

Julia nodded but Marta said nothing. They exited the car and walked towards the house. Blanc was the first to enter, then Marta, then Julia. Walt and Richard were waiting in the foyer for them. They all turned around and Richard was the first to speak.

"Oh! Okay. Well, has she come to her senses?" Richard asked.

Walt lifted a hand. "Well, she's standing right there, Richard. She can speak for herself," he said softly.

"Is the rest of the family here?" Blanc asked them.

"In the living room."

"I think it would be better if we were to gather again and get this over with," the detective said, walking with the two men down the hall.

Marta held her face and Julia wrapped an arm around her. "It's okay, Marta. I'm right here with you."

"Marta, Julia..." Julia heard Meg say to their left. They both turned their heads to see Meg sitting in a chair. "Hey."

"Hey," Marta said.

Meg got up and hugged Marta. "I'm so sorry I told them about your mom."

"Meg, it's okay," Marta whispered, hugging Meg back.

"I'm sorry. No...I was scared. I just...I didn't wanna tell them."

Julia rubbed both their backs. "This isn't your fault, Meg, trust me."

Marta and Meg pulled apart while Julia turned around, wringing her hands. She was so nervous. She was about to admit to a crime in front of her whole family, but she was so scared for Marta. How would her family react? Would they attack Marta? Julia wouldn't let that happen. Not by a long shot.

"God, I am so raiding Fran's stash after this," Meg said with a wheezy chuckle.

Benoit came out of the living room. "I still think this is a bad idea, but the family is assembled," he said, walking to Julia.

"I know where the tox report is," Marta said.

Julia turned around. "What? Where?" Then it clicked. "Ooooh. Ha! Clever."

Blanc, Marta and Julia all went to the room with the cupid clock. The report was, in fact, inside the clock. "She basically told me where it was," Marta explained, handing the folded report to the detective. "Anyways, this will tie everything up. And I just handed it to you," she said, sitting down in front of the fireplace. "God, you're not much of a detective, are you?"

Julia snorted into her hand. Benoit looked at her with incredulity. "Well, to be fair," he said, sitting down next to her. "You make a pretty lousy murderer. And you," he looked at Julia, "a lousy accomplice." Both Marta and Julia giggled. "Perhaps we deserve each other."

He'd looked right at Julia when he said that last part and she felt her cheeks heat up. What did he mean by that? The two got up and they all walked to the living room, but Benoit stopped Julia.

"Detective?" she asked. "What is it?"

He frowned as he looked at her. "I..." he paused, looking as if he was trying to find the right words. "I only wish we had met under different circumstances. That things weren't like this."

Julia gave him a sad smile and gently grabbed his hand. "Me too, Benoit."

Julia let go and walked away from him to join Marta's side. Everyone was in the living room, staring at the two with anticipation.

"You've always been good to me," Marta began. "And what I'm about to say isn't gonna be easy and you're gonna be upset. But I thought after what you've gone through the last few days," Julia gripped Marta's hand to let her know she was there, "that you deserved to hear it from me. I-"

"Excuse me!" Blanc barked as he stormed into the room to stop Marta. Julia looked at him in shock. "You have not been good to her. You have all treated her like shit to steal back a fortune that you lost, and she deserves! You're a pack of vultures at the feast! Knives out, beaks bloody! Well," Benoit inhaled sharply, "you're not gettin' bailed out, not this time. Miss Cabrera has decided, definitively, not to renounce the inheritance."

"What?" Walt said.

"What?" both Julia and Marta said, looking at Benoit.

"And furthermore, it will be my professional recommendation to the local authorities that the manner of death in the case of Harlam Thrombey is ruled as suicide!" Benoit stated loudly. "And the case is closed."

"Blanc?" Marta said.

"Thank y'all for comin'. Goodbye." Blanc looked at the two girls, grabbed Julia by the hand, grabbed Marta by the arm and dragged them both from the living room.

"What's going on? Just tell me..." Marta began.

"Just hold on a second, I'll explain in a minute," the detective said.

Julia was not opposed to holding Blanc's hand, but she was still confused. He directed them to the parlour where the wheel of knives was, and he had on a grin as he looked at Julia.

"I just wanna come clean, okay?" Marta begged. "It's over."

"Almost," Blanc replied, letting Marta go and holding up his hand. He turned to Julia, kissing her hand and smiling. "The game is still afoot, Watson."

Elliot and Wagner walked in. "What-what-what was that? What's going on?" Elliot asked in a slight frenzy.

Blanc let go of Julia and turned to the officers, palms up. "I'm sorry. Officer Wagner..."

Julia watched as Benoit directed Wagner to get the family out of the house. She looked at Marta in confusion, then back at the detective.

 _"What the hell is going on?"_ she thought.


	8. The Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. This chapter was just...wow. For some reason I feel like I put a lot of work into this chapter but let me know what you think.
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos.

"Blanc, come on, come on," Elliot said, rolling his hand. "What's all this drama?"

"Indulge me," Benoit said to him.

"Blanc, I told Ransom, Ransom told you, and I'm telling you now, it is an immovable fact that I killed Harlan," Marta said, sitting down with Julia standing behind her.

"Yes you did, yes he did, yes you are," Blanc said, leaning down towards Marta. "But...but, I spoke in the car about the hole at the center of this donut. And what you and Julia and Harlan did that fateful night seems, at first glance, to fill that hole perfectly. A donut hole in a donut's hole. But we must look a little closer, and when we do, we see the donut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a donut hole, but a smaller donut with it's own hole and our donut is not whole at all!"

Julia cocked her head to the side. Surprisingly, she was able to follow everything Blanc was saying.

"Blanc," Elliot interrupted. "Look, I understand this is amusing for you..."

Blanc stood up and went to Elliot, his hands motioning up and down. "Why was I hired?" he asked rhetorically, turning away. "Why would someone hire me?"

"Someone fishing for a crime to reverse the will, Blanc. Come on."

"But I was hired before the sealed will was read. So, yes, the person must have known the contents of the will. But one step further, that same person must have known a crime was committed, and further," he explained, taking white tape and putting them on glass vials, "...if the intent was to reverse Marta's inheritance, they must have known that Marta was responsible. An intriguing combination of factors. Someone who knew what Marta did wanted to expose it but could not reveal how they knew."

"Fran!" Marta said, stopping Blanc in his enthusiastic explanation. "She was blackmailing me, she knew what I did."

Blanc removed his coat. "Yeah, but Fran wanted money, ergo she did not want the crime exposed."

"What if someone in the family had observed Marta doing something suspicious?" Elliot pointed out.

"But they would have had no reason not to speak up," Blanc continued." Blanc set the vials down and sighed, scratching his head and walking to the chair in front of the wheel of knives. "The answer is not so simple." He sat down. "Now with the entire solution in my field of view, the arc of this case is a tragedy of errors." He sighed again. "Marta, Julia, it will not be easy for you to hear. But there is at least," Blanc began unbuttoning his sleeves and rolling them up, "one truly guilty party behind it all, guilty in the true sense of acting with malice and committing a heinous crime with selfish intent."

Julia started putting the pieces together. Everything Blanc was saying suddenly made sense. Well, almost everything, but there was only one person who knew about the will change besides herself before the will was unsealed. Or rather, she knew about one person being cut from the will, and so did one other person.

 _"Ransom..."_ Julia thought, looking at the detective with the blood draining from her face. _"Ransom knew he was being cut out of the will. He...oh God,"_ she thought, sitting down in a chair. _"Oh Ransom, what did you do?"_

Blanc glanced at Julia with a smirk. By the look on her face, he must have deduced that she knew who he was talking about. "Trooper Wagner!" he called out.

"Trooper Wagner?" Marta asked in confusion.

Blanc made a face at her. "No."

Wagner came walking in with Ransom. "Marta, Julia, I'm so sorry. I told them everything," Ransom said. "I figured it was up. I'm sorry."

Julia scoffed and stood up, crossing her arms as Marta got up and walked to him. "Hey. It's alright, Ransom. I'm glad you did."

"No, don't apologize to him!" Julia shouted. "He's the one who is behind all of this!"

Ransom's jaw dropped and Marta turned around to gape at Julia. "What?" they both said.

Julia threw her hand up, motioning to Blanc. "Take it away, Detective."

"You didn't tell them everything," Blanc said to Ransom, walking towards Ransom with his hands in his pockets.

"Is this about what Greatnana told you?" Marta asked Benoit. "She saw Julia that night. She mistook her for Ransom."

"We'll get to that," Blanc said, walking towards Julia. "In the meanwhile, Mr. Hugh Ransom Drysdale, you might tell us all why you hired me."

Everyone looked at Ransom, including Julia who sat down in a chair with legs crossed and a smug look on her face.

"Why I hired you?" Ransom asked innocently.

Julia didn't know where this was going yet, but she sure as shit was going to enjoy it. Still, she couldn't figure out how Ransom knew about the crime. How did he know? Then it hit her.

_"Greatnana said, "Ransom, are you back again already?" to me. Again? So he must've...he was...what the fuck? What the hell was he doing outside that night?"_

The detective smiled. "You're right. Let's back it up...to the night of the party. Your argument with Harlan. What were the overheard words by the Nazi child masterbatin' in the bathroom?"

Julia wheezed out a chuckle. "Blanc..." she scolded.

"Right, my apologies. By the Nazi child who was _not_ masterbatin' in the bathroom? "My will," and "I'm warning you." You and Harlan were drama mamas, you shared a love of twistin' the knife into one another. You see, I don't believe he would have slipped it in halfway, no, no, no," Blanc explained, waving his finger about. "I submit Harlan told you everythin'." Blanc raised his hand. "Marta, remind me what Ransom said his conversation with Harlan ended with?"

"...Harlan told him I could beat him at Go," she said, glancing at Ransom.

"And I asked myself, "Marta? Why would the topic of the will have steered around to Marta?" There is one obvious explanation..."

Ransom smirked a little. "That's some heavy-duty conjecture," he said.

Blanc threw up a hand. "Granted. But it is the only way what comes next makes sense. So you storm out, you drive off into the night. You tell Marta later...what was it? Feelin' an overwhelmin' sense of..."

"Clarity," Julia and Marta both said.

"That he had to make do for himself from here on out," Marta quoted.

"Exactly!" Benoit exclaimed. "Marta. The will. Harlan. "Do for yourself." "You won't get away with this." And a plan forms. You return, careful to avoid the gate's security camera range. Then on foot towards the house, you sneak in up the trellis so as not to be seen by the rest of the family who are still havin' their party downstairs. What you need to do will take moments. But it is essential that you are alone and undetected. You knew what medications Harlan took."

Julia blinked. _"Wait, why would that be important?"_

"You knew what Marta would be injectin' him with that night."

Julia's face dropped. _"Why is this...what?"_

"And you knew...if Marta was responsible for his death," Blanc said, closing in on Ransom, "even unintentionally, the slayer rule would nullify the changed will and," he pointed at Ransom briefly, "you would get your share back. You used the syringes in the kit to switch the liquids in the two medication vials and as a final precaution, you took the Naloxone, the lifesaving antidote."

Julia gasped and stood up. "He did _what?!"_

"No, no no no, that's impossible," Marta stammered.

"That is the truth," Blanc said, walking away from Ransom to look at Marta. "Hand me that vial of morphine, I'll show ya."

Marta looked shocked, glancing at both Ransom and Blanc. "If-if he did that, if the meds were switched," she said, walking to grab one of the vials and picked it up, "then when I got them mixed up, I...I accidentally switched them back, so...I gave Harlan..."

"The correct doses, yes." Blanc ambled to Marta. "But not accidentally." He grabbed the vial she had. "I taped over the label of these two vials. The vials themselves," he took off the tape, "are identical." He held up the vial to her. "How did you know this was the morphine?"

"I just knew," Marta said with tears in her eyes.

Julia sat back down and covered her mouth. _"No fucking way!"_ she thought.

"You knew because there is the slightest, almost imperceptible differences of tincture and viscosity between the two liquids. You knew because you've done it a hundred times. You gave him the correct medication because you are a good nurse."

"Then Harlan was..." Marta stopped.

"I'm sorry, Marta, but yes. Harlan was perfectly fine."

"Oh my God," she said, sitting down and breathing heavily with the saddest look on her face.

Julia bowed her head. "So he...died for nothing?"

"I'm afraid so, Julia. His blood was normal." Blanc looked at Elliot. "The cause of death was truly, solely suicide, and you are guilty," he looked at Marta then at Julia, "of nothing more than some damage to the trellis and a few amateur theatrics." Marta sighed, looking down at the floor. "In fact, if Harlan had listened to you and called the ambulance, he would be alive today."

Elliot shook his head. "Damn."

Julia was in shock. She stared at her brother who apparently could not look her in the eye. "Ransom..." she said, walking to him. "Tell me it's not true, little brother."

Ransom still could not meet her gaze. "It's not true."

Julia growled and leaned down at him. "Look me in the eye and say it!" she shouted in his face.

Ransom lifted his gaze to look at her with a frown. He said nothing. Julia stood up straight as the tears fell from her eyes. Her brother, her little twin brother, was lying. He attempted to murder their grandfather. It failed but Harlan died anyway. This revelation shook her to the core.

And with all her might, she raised her hand and slapped Ransom across the face, a loud smack almost echoing throughout the room. "You son of a _bitch!"_ she screamed.

Her hand stung from the impact but it was worth it. Ransom's cheek was now a bright red, her finger marks already forming. He stared at her in disbelief before she grabbed him by his coat collar and shook him.

"How could you do this, Ransom?!" she screamed again. "How?! How could you do this to Granddad?!"

Before Julia could beat the piss out of Ransom, she felt strong arms pull her back and she was turned around into Benoit's chest. He held her to him as she cried, continuing on with his assessment.

"A twisted web...and we are not finished untangling it," said the detective bitterly. "Not yet. Julia, when Greatnana spotted you climbin' down the trellis, she said..."

""...Ransom? Are you back again already?"" Julia quoted with a sob.

""Are you back again already?" 'Cause earlier that night, she said, "Ransom, you're back?"

Julia pulled away from Benoit and stormed out of the room, holding a hand to her mouth and nose as she wept. She couldn't hear any more of this. She was too heartbroken.

"Julia!"

Julia was at the steps when she felt herself get turned around and she looked up to see Benoit. "I can't listen anymore, Detective. I just can't."

"Alright, Julia," he said, wiping her tears away as he looked at her with the most tender look in his eyes. "Just go upstairs to your room and I will join you momentarily so we can talk, okay?"

Julia nodded vehemently. "Okay."

"Good."

Julia swirled around and ran up the stairs to the second floor, marching to her room and opening it before slamming it shut. She sat on the bed and buried her face into her hands, crying her eyes out.

And she cried.

And cried.

And cried and cried and cried.

She cried until she couldn't cry anymore and she rubbed her eyes to clear them.

Her brother was such an asshole. He was the scum of the earth for what he had done. She wished he would eat shit and die. At least in that very moment, she wished it.

 _"Jesus, Granddad. I'm so sorry,"_ she thought to herself. _"What have we done?"_

Just when she thought she might cry again, Julia heard a knock on the door. How much time had passed while she cried?

"Julia?" she heard Blanc say. "May I come in?"

Julia sniffled and rubbed her eyes again. "The door's open," she said.

The door creaked open and Blanc walked in, looking apprehensive. Julia gave him a sad smile and sighed as he walked over to sit on the bed next to her.

"So, what happened after I left?" she asked softly, doing her best not to break down again. This would probably do it but she had to know.

Benoit jerked his head briefly and raised his eyebrows. "You sure you want to know?"

"I need to know what he did, and how," she said. "I need to know what happened."

"Well," he said, standing up, "Ransom proclaimed his innocence, claiming I had no shred of evidence against him and that we had Marta's confession. I granted him that," Benoit wagged his finger in the air, "but made him indulge me to spin this so-called fairy tale a bit further. Much later that night, he came back to the house to retrieve the incriminatin' tampered vials. However, this time the dogs were outside. They barked, waking Meg. No matter, he'd get the vials the next day."

He paused to look at Julia, as if to make sure she was doing alright. She grasped his hand tightly. "Please continue."

He nodded, bringing her hand up to his mouth to kiss it before letting go. "But the next day brought news not of a medical error and a guilty nurse, but of a slit throat and a suicide," Benoit continued, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Now the circumstances were perfect for the anonymous hirin' of me. He knew a crime had been committed by Miss Cabrera, he needed her to be caught for it. He could not reveal how he knew." Blanc raised his hands. "Enter Benoit Blanc."

Julia giggled a little. "Such a dramatic entrance."

The detective chucked deeply and continued, raising a finger. "The body was discovered early the next morning after the party. The police, the medical examiner, the family, everyone swarmed in," he said, waving his arms about, "and there was no possible way he could get to Marta's medical bag to retrieve the vials. He had to wait for his moment," Benoit began pacing back and forth, "when the investigation was over and he knew the house would be empty. And that is why he missed the funeral."

Julia raised her head slowly. "Ooooh, that's why he wasn't there."

"Mmhmm. There was no one home to wonder why he went into Harlan's private study. Or so he thought."

Julia's eyes went wide. "Fran. She saw him there, didn't she?"

He snapped his fingers at Julia. "Yes, she most certainly did. She witnessed him tamperin' with Harlan's medication in the medical bag. She did not know what he was doing. But she knew he was up to no good. So her mind began to turn," he said, wiggling his finger in a circular motion next to his head. "She loved Harlan, she hated Ransom, so the poor girl decided to test her theory, and make this asshole pay."

Julia giggled again. "You said asshole."

"Well," Benoit said, smirking as he once again filled his pockets with his hands, "he is one. Everyone knows that."

Julia grinned up at him. "Continue, please."

God, she was loving his story telling.

"She got a copy of the toxicology report, and at first I had no idea how until Marta revealed that Fran told her that she had a cousin who worked as a receptionist at the crime lab. Voila!" he exclaimed, holding up a fist. "The numbers on the report meant nothing to her, but if Ransom was guilty," Blanc held out a hand, palm up, "its existence was a threat so she photocopied the header and made her blackmail note." Blanc began pacing again.

"Wait, why did she send it to Marta, then?"

"She didn't. She sent it to Ransom. And when he got it, what is his reaction? Elation. He still thought Marta had given your granddad the tampered drugs. A tox report would prove Marta's guilt. He went to the will reading in high spirits," Blanc said, holding up a finger before making a tearing motion with his palms, "ready to see the family tear itself apart, secure in the knowledge it would be all undone when the tox report came to light."

Julia "oohed" again. "No wonder he was so giddy."

"Right. And then...Marta's confession. And everything turned," Blanc circled his finger about, "on its head. He then realized that Marta had committed no crime and the tox report would prove her innocence!" he exclaimed. "The changed will was gonna stand. He lost. Unless..."

Julia stared at Blanc wide eyed, so enthralled by his story. "Unless what?"

"Unless he decided...he's not gonna give up the money. He's come this far. Just one step further, just one last act," he said, leaning down to Julia's face with a grin. "In for a penny, in for a pound." He stood up straight and looked down at her, once more with his hands in his pockets. "He decided he was in." He turned from her and walked to and fro in the room. "Step one: destroy all evidence of Marta's innocence."

"So he's the one who burned down the examiner's office?" Julia asked in shock.

"Exactly!" the detective said. "You should have become a detective yourself, my dear. Step two: send her the anonymous email with a late morning rendezvous time...and deliver Marta the blackmail note. Step three: keep his appointment with Fran. He attacked Fran and gave her a lethal injection of morphine. See, now, now the board was set. Marta would get the blackmail note," he said while scratching his head, "he'd put the pieces together for Marta. He guided her to the rendezvous. He'd make the anonymous call to the police, they would catch her there with the body and the burned evidence."

Julia scowled, gripping her bed sheets. "That asshole tried to frame Marta for Fran's overdose?"

"Yes."

"Son of a bitch! I should've slapped him repeatedly!" she shouted.

Benoit's lip upturned into a smirk. "Yes, and I should have let you. Anyway," Blanc turned on his heels. "Marta would get arrested for killin' Fran and Harlan. And she didn't say, "you did this", she said "Hugh did this", because Marta said Ransom made the help call him Hugh because!" the detective pointed at Julia.

"Because he's an asshole," Julia said lightly.

"Correct! Now, it would've worked if the cops and I hadn't brought Ransom in for questioning so he couldn't make his anonymous phone call. And if Fran had not stashed a safety copy of the tox report. And," he pointed a finger to the ceiling, "if Marta had not outplayed him once again. By havin' a kind heart," he turned to Julia with a sad smile, "by savin' Fran's life though it meant her losin' the inheritance and going to jail. She didn't play Ransom's game," he said, waving his hand around. "She saved Fran's life."

"So Fran is okay?" Julia asked, concerned for her friend.

Benoit frowned. "No, I'm afraid not. She passed, Julia. I'm sorry."

Julia held a hand to her mouth and sobbed, tears filling her eyes again, but then she regained her composure and looked up at the detective. "So what happened next?" she sniffled.

Benoit came and sat next to her, taking her hand in his. "At that point, the hospital called to inform Marta of Fran's death. But Marta decided not to reveal that information to any of us. Not yet. She lied about it."

Julia's eyes went wide. "Oh God. She puked, didn't she?"

"Yes, but I'm gettin' to that part," he chuckled. "She said Fran was going to be okay, and that she was ready to talk. I told Wagner to keep Ransom in custody while Marta, Elliot and I would make a trip to the hospital to take Fran's statement. Ransom approached Marta, saying he was only going to say this to her, not in a courtroom or in front of cameras." Blanc stood up, pacing again. "He said, "We allowed you into our home. We let you watch our Granddad, we welcomed you into our family, and now you think you can steal from us? You think I'm not gonna fight to protect my home, our birthright, our ancestral family home?""

Julia burst into laughter. "What the fuck? No no no, Granddad bought this house almost forty years ago! Ancestral home, my ass!"

Blanc laughed too, standing in front of Julia. "That's pretty much what I told him, then he told me to shut up with that..."Kentucky fried foghorn leghorn drawl," I believe is what he said."

Julia snorted. "Then what?"

"Well," Blanc knelt down in front of Julia, looking up at her, "then he confessed, saying he killed Fran but didn't, would be tagged with arson and such and with his lawyers he'd be out quick, then threatened Marta and insulted her. Then..." Blanc smiled. "She regurgitated on his face."

Julia burst into a fit of giggles. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"No, I am not, my dear. But this is where we found out Fran was dead. Ransom had just confessed to her murder...and Wagner had been recording this whole time."

"Oh damn. I didn't know Marta had it in her!" Julia exclaimed happily. "Good for her! Then what?"

Blanc sighed. "Then he tried to kill Marta with a knife."

Julia gasped and held her mouth. "Oh, is she okay?"

Blanc stood up. "She is just fine. The knife was actually a stage prop from that...wheel of knives in the parlour."

Julia pressed a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. "Oh thank God..."

Blanc sat next to her on the bed. "Well, now your twin brother is in custody and is currently being transported to the police station."

"Good," she said. "Well, that was quite a story, Detective Blanc. As I've said before, you should've been a writer."

A rumbling in Blanc's chest erupted into a deep chuckle. "Yes, well, you'd make an exemplary detective."

Julia laughed and glanced at Benoit. "Maybe." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bit her lip. "So what now?"

"Now?" he said, looking at her with an unsure expression. "Well, now I move on to the next case. This one is officially closed."

"Oh." Julia looked down at her feet. "I see."

Her chin was lifted and turned towards Blanc. "Julia, that doesn't mean I'm movin' on from you."

Julia blinked hard. "Really? Even after I lied to you?"

"You were protectin' your friend. I cannot fault you for havin' a kind, brave heart. Especially since that heart has," he sighed heavily, "captured me and swallowed me whole."

Julia frowned, biting her lip. "Detective, I don't know if I can...I mean, I feel awful for lying to you. I will always feel awful about that."

Blanc arched a brow. "Well, I have just the thing for you to make it up to me."

"You do?"

The detective grasped her hand and held it tightly. "Allow me to take you out to dinner and a movie this evening."

Julia's mouth parted and she squeaked a little. "Like...like a date?"

"Yes, a date," he said with a beaming smile.

Julia felt her heart flutter and she smiled back at him. "I'd love to."

Blanc smiled even wider and kissed the knuckles on her hand. "Pick you up at, let's say, 5:30?"

"Yes."

They both got up from the bed and Benoit kissed her hand once more before walking to the door backwards, still with a big smile on his face. "I'll see you then," he said before exiting the room.

Julia went and shut the door, smiling before jumping up and down for joy.


	9. The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you all think so far? Let me know in the comments.

Julia was very excited over this new development. Benoit had _asked her out_. Once she was done jumping around happily, she left the room, ran down the hallway and took the stairs two at a time.

"Marta!" she called out. "Marta, where are you?!"

She opened the front door and saw Marta standing on the walkway that overlooked the driveway. Marta turned around. She had a blanket on and was holding Julia's Granddad's favorite mug.

_My house_

_My rules_

_My coffee_

It was fitting.

Julia walked to her with a big smile. "Guess what?"

Marta cocked her head. "What?"

Julia skipped to stand next to Marta. She looked down to see her family standing on the driveway looking up at them. "Oh dear. What are you gonna do about them?"

Marta turned around to gaze at the Thrombeys. "I haven't decided yet," she said, sipping her coffee. "But what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Blanc asked me out."

Marta jerked her head to face Julia. "Are you serious? That's wonderful!"

Julia was beaming and leaned on the concrete walkway. "I know!"

"No wonder he looked so happy when he left. So where is he taking you?"

Julia shrugged with a smile. "I dunno. We're going to dinner and a movie tonight."

"Hmm, I see." Marta sighed and took another drink of coffee. "Any suggestions on what I should do with your family?"

Julia shrugged. "Fuck 'em. They treated you like shit at the will reading."

"Yes but they've been so good to me before all that."

Julia arched a brow and sighed. "Well, I-"

"Julia!" her father yelled. "Would you come down here please?"

Julia rolled her eyes and walked down the steps before walking to her father. She noticed he had a black eye and blinked. "What happened to your eye?"

"Your mother punched me," he said with a frown, keeping his voice barely above a whisper.

"Ouch. So you told her, huh?" she whispered back.

"No. Before I could tell her, she found out from a letter Harlan wrote her," Richard muttered.

"Oh." Julia crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what do you want?"

"Is Marta going to keep the inheritance to herself?" Walt asked as he approached Julia.

"She hasn't decided yet. And," Julia turned to face Walt, "I would suggest not pressuring her." Walt frowned at her as she looked at her dad. "Is that what you were going to ask me?"

"No. Why was Ransom arrested?" Richard asked.

Julia blinked, shocked as she fully faced him. "No one told you?"

"No."

Julia huffed a raspberry. "He killed Fran and tried to kill Marta."

The whole family looked at her, flabbergasted at the news. "What?" Linda said, walking over with the rest of the family. "He what?"

Joni looked very confused. "Are you sure?"

Julia laughed bitterly. "He confessed. And according to the detective, he tried to kill Marta with a stage prop from the wheel of knives."

"You weren't there when it happened?" Meg asked.

"No," Julia replied, covering her cheeks and eyes with her hands. "I went to my room. I was too...distraught when I learned what he had done."

"What, that he killed Fran?"

"No." Julia dropped her hands and cleared her throat, looking at everyone with a sober expression. "He tried to kill Granddad."

Everyone's jaw dropped. "No," Richard said in shock. "No!"

"Oh yeah," Julia said with a nod, crossing her arms. "He switched medications in Marta's medical bag and took the Naxolone. Marta accidentally switched them back and, well, without the Naxolone available, she and I thought Granddad was going to die in ten minutes so he killed himself to prevent Marta and I from being arrested."

The whole family just stood there, gaping at her. "You didn't bother to call an ambulance?!" Linda snapped.

Julia sighed heavily. "Marta and I tried but Granddad refused. He would've been dead by the time the ambulance arrived...well, he wouldn't have but we didn't know that at the time. Anyway, we tried to talk him out of it. He wouldn't listen. His mind was made up, you know how he was."

"So, Ransom mixed up the medications? And Marta switched them back?" Meg asked, looking very confused.

"Yeah, because Marta is a good nurse."

"How does that make her a good nurse?" Richard asked, crossing his arms and not looking convinced.

"Because there's a slight difference between the Toradol and the morphine and Marta...just knew based on that."

"What difference?"

Julia tried to remember what the detective had said about it. "Tincture and viscosity," Julia said matter-of-factly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get ready for a date tonight."

Julia turned on her heels, waving goodbye to Marta, and started walking towards her car, the gravel crunching under her feet.

"A date? With who?" Linda asked, walking after her.

"The detective."

Linda grabbed Julia's arm and swirled her around. "The detective?! But he's at least...fifteen years older than you!"

"And?" Julia asked, making a "who cares?" kind of face.

Richard came walking up. "Honey, I don't think it's right for you to be dating someone so much older than you," he said.

Julia narrowed her eyes at them both. "I'm an adult and I'll do what I see fit! And you, Dad," she growled, pointing at him, "are the last person who should be giving me relationship advice!"

Richard frowned and Linda scoffed, walking away. "This is ridiculous!" she shouted. "My daughter is dating an old man!"

Julia giggled. "He's younger than you," she muttered.

Richard put his hands in his pockets. "So, you like him, huh?"

"Yes, I do," Julia said, smiling.

Richard chuckled and looked down, kicking at some gravel before eyeing his daughter. "Well, he better be a gentleman to you, otherwise we're gonna have words."

Julia wanted to stay mad at her father but she found his paternal instinct to be rather sweet. So, she smiled at him. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to let you know if he's untoward. But anyway...please try to patch up things with Mom. It's enough that my brother is going to jail, I don't think I could handle you two getting a divorce."

Richard nodded with a frown. "I will try, kiddo."

Julia backed away and walked to her car. She got in and drove off, watching her family grow smaller in the rearview mirror.

Despite the horrible events of the day, despite her brother going to prison for murder, Julia was feeling pretty upbeat. She had a date with a guy she really liked. A detective, even. And nothing was going to keep her down, not even her brother's arrest. As far as she was concerned, he deserved to go to jail.

 _"Wow,"_ she thought. _"I'm so excited! Oh God, what am I going to wear?"_

Julia drove a little faster in a rush to get home and pick out an outfit. She checked the time on her car radio. It was 3:56. Good, she had plenty of time to get ready. As she pulled into her driveway, she excitedly got out of the car and locked it before going inside.

_"First things first, a shower!"_

Julia ran to the bathroom upstairs, took off her clothes and started the shower. She got in and yelped. Too cold! She turned the heat up on the water and soon it was a nice temperature. Julia got the shampoo and scrubbed it all in her hair. After rinsing, she put conditioner in. In the meantime, to let the conditioner work its magic, she put shaving cream on her legs and armpits, then got to shaving. She looked down at her crotch.

_"I wonder if he likes a shaved cooch. No, no no no. It's too early for that._ _Then again, I am a grown woman and can have sex whenever I want. But...I better not on the first date. He might lose all respect for me if I have sex with him. No, is he that type of guy? He's a gentleman, he wouldn't put out on the first date anyway. Hmm...well, a little trim wouldn't hurt._ _I don't want him to see me and then start singing "Welcome To The Jungle"_ _in case we end up doing it."_

After trimming her pubic hair a bit, Julia finished up with her legs and armpits, rinsed out the conditioner, turned off the shower and got out. She reached for a towel and began drying off.

_"Okay, shower, check._ _Now to dry off my hair and pick out an outfit!"_

Julia wrapped her towel around her body and plugged in her hair dryer. She began with the blow dryer and brushed as it blew hot air on her, a loud "eee" sound coming from it.

_"Should I wear my hair up or down? Decisions, decisions..._ _down. Down is always good."_

Once Julia's hair was dried, she took her dirty clothes and went to the bedroom. She tossed the dirty clothes into the hamper and checked her phone. 4:39. She had a little less than an hour to get ready. Her phone beeped and she checked it. She had a text message from Blanc. Julia unlocked her phone and read the message.

_I am most anxious to spend the evening with you._

Julia felt her heart skip a beat. The man sure knew how to do pull at the heartstrings. She began typing a response.

_Me too. It's been a while since I've been on a date._

Julia put the phone down and went to her walk-in closet. So many clothes to choose from.

 _"I gotta donate some of these clothes,"_ she thought as she grabbed a navy blue silk blouse and black slacks.

Her phone beeped again and she walked out with her clothes, set them on the bed and grabbed her phone.

_I hope to rectify that with future dates._

Julia smiled at the message and typed a response before pressing send.

_Thinking ahead already?_

Julia checked the time. It was now 4:44. She needed to hurry up. Her makeup was going to take a while. Her phone buzzed again and she looked at it.

_Should I not be thinking ahead?_

Oh, now she made him feel unsure of himself. She hadn't meant to do that. Julia was looking forward to more dates with this guy. She typed on her phone.

_I was only teasing you._ _I like that you're thinking ahead._

She went into the bathroom and pulled out her makeup kit. While she was applying it, her phone went off and she checked the message.

_Oh. I see. Will you be wearing a dress tonight?_

She paused. Why the hell would she be wearing a dress? Did he like that sort of thing? Julia giggled. Maybe she would wear a dress, but wouldn't that be a bit too formal?

 _"Well, that depends on the dress,"_ she thought.

She got her phone and texted him back.

_Should I wear a dress?_ _Are we going somewhere fancy?_

Julia chuckled and went back to applying her makeup. When she was putting on her eyeliner her phone went off again and she checked it.

_Yes and yes._

Julia smirked at herself in the mirror. She knew exactly what kind of dress to wear. It would really knock his socks off. She typed another message.

_Yes, I will be wearing a dress._

Julia was almost done applying her makeup when the phone buzzed again and she looked at it.

_Excellent. I will arrive shortly._

Julia squeaked with delight and finished up her makeup then ran into the bedroom to her closet. She ruffled through her dress section until she found the one she wanted. She grabbed a strapless bra and bikini panties from one of her drawers and dropped her towel. After slipping on the underwear, Julia grabbed a black cocktail dress and slipped it on. It was off the shoulder with a sweetheart neckline, ruched sides to hug her hips and waist. The bottom had mild ruffles, ending at her knees. There was another ruffle on the hip of her dress that started at the waist and ended at her thigh. She took a look at herself in the mirror and smiled.

"I really hope he likes this dress," she said to herself.

She found simple black heels to put on and grabbed them. She took one last look at herself in the bathroom. She was missing something. Oh! Julia ran back to her closet and grabbed a gold necklace and cubic zirconia earrings. She quickly put those in and put the necklace on before applying perfume to herself. She raced back to the bathroom and checked her hair and makeup. She decided to give her hair a quick brush through. The doorbell rang while she was in the middle of brushing.

"Oh damn!" she barked. "I need a clutch or something!"

She ran to the closet, grabbed a black and white clutch, grabbed her phone from the bathroom and slipped on her shoes. The doorbell rang again.

"Coming!" she yelled as her heels clicked and clacked against the hardwood floor and down the stairs.

She got to the front door, adjusted her dress and took a deep breath before opening the door. The sight before her took Julia's breath away.

Blanc was in an all black suit with canvassed lapels, bullhorn buttons and collar felts on the jacket. His shirt was buttoned all the way up and he had a tie on that was in a balthus knot. His shoes were black and shiny, looking as if they'd just been polished. He was holding a bouquet of red roses and the look on his face was priceless.

"...Julia, you look..." He looked her up and down, his eyes wide. "Stunning."

Julia felt her cheeks heat up. "And you look very handsome, Detective. The flowers are beautiful. Please, come in while I put them in some water."

Julia moved to the side so Blanc could walk in. She took the flowers and set them on the kitchen counter before digging around in her cabinets. She bent over and checked under the kitchen sink.

"Ah, here we go," she said, grabbing a clear glass vase and putting water in it. She looked at the detective behind her and his eyes were dilated. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, not able to take his eyes off her. "Yes, I'm quite fine. I'm merely...takin' you in, and I must say that I'm not disappointed."

Julia giggled lightly while putting the roses in the vase. "Well, I'm certainly not disappointed in your choice of attire, either, Detective."

Blanc smirked at her. "Why do you still insist on callin' me "Detective"?"

Julia walked over to him, her hips slightly swaying. "Because I like calling you Detective. It suits you. Does it bother you?"

Benoit shook his head. "No. When it comes from your mouth, I find it to be most endearing," he explained, holding out his arm. "Shall we?"

Julia smiled brightly. Such a gentleman. She grabbed her phone, her clutch and house keys before linking her arm with his. They left the house and she locked up, then he directed her to the passenger side of the car. He opened it for her with a grin. Julia slid in and Blanc shut her door, then went around to the driver's side and got in. As he started the car, he looked at her with a broad smile.

"You really do look beautiful, Julia," he said, speaking barely above a whisper. "I can hardly keep my eyes off of you."

She blushed. "Careful, you might make me want to skip the whole date just so I can make out with you."

His eyes went dark at the suggestion and he turned in his seat to face her. "Do not tempt me like that," he said with a smile. "I just might take you up on it but I would prefer takin' you out like a gentleman should."

Julia pouted. "I'm sorry."

"No no, it's alright," he said, taking her hand. "I only meant that I wish to court you properly."

"Oh." She giggled and rubbed his knuckles with her thumb. She wasn't used to this kind of behavior from a man, but she definitely liked it. You didn't find a gentleman every day. "Your mother raised you right, then."

Blanc laughed. "Yes, I suppose she did." He kissed her hand before letting go and putting the car in reverse.

They both buckled their seatbelts and Benoit got onto the road. Once they got to the main road, Blanc started chatting away.

"May I inquire something of you?" he asked.

"Inquire away, Detective," she replied coolly.

"What was your first impression of me?"

Julia took a breath then blew out a raspberry. "Oh God, well...I thought you were incredibly handsome. Especially with that accent of yours. But then you asked Marta if having a kind heart made her a good nurse, and that kinda flustered me. Then you asked if my father was having an affair and that really irritated me."

Benoit frowned while looking at the road. "I must apologize for being so blunt, Julia. It is part of my method."

"Don't apologize for being who you are, Benoit. Besides, I was already unsettled at the time. I was an accomplice to helping Marta cover up my grandfather's death, and you were investigating it."

Blanc nodded and hummed. "That is quite true."

"That night, when you talked about Gravity's Rainbow...that's when you had me. Hook, line and sinker."

"Really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Julia looked over at him. "What was your first impression of me? I know you said you were enchanted by me, but...what made that happen?"

Julia could tell the man was blushing. "Well...my first thought on layin' my eyes on you was how incredibly beautiful you were. Then I saw the blood on your boot and my thoughts became strictly professional because that's when I knew you had somethin' to do with Harlan's demise. Then you asked me what the hell kind of question I asked Marta. And then it was little things that you were doing here and there, physical expressions and mannerisms, that I found to be quite appealin'. And...tearin' your father a new asshole was what did me in. I saw your strong spirit and that made quite the impression on me."

Julia chuckled and grabbed his hand. "You like girls with a temper, huh?"

"Not particularly, no. But there's somethin' about yours that is quite different and for the life of me, I cannot explain why. The answer is truly in the deepest fog of my mind."

Julia smiled at him and faced forward once more. "I see."

"Perhaps it is because you do not act with spite."

Julia lowered her gaze and removed her hand from his. "I used to."

"Really? How so?"

"I was a lot like my brother when I was younger. I told you this, I think."

"But somethin' changed."

"Yes."

"What was it?"

Julia wrung her hands together suddenly. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not talk about it."

Blanc eyed her and a deep set frown formed on his face. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Julia."

"No, it's okay."

Benoit got into town and Julia looked out the window at the place, passing by shops and businesses as he drove. He pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant called Alfonso's and Julia gasped.

"Holy shit, we're going here?" Julia asked excitedly.

"Yes," replied Blanc. "Do you know it?"

"I know that it's expensive! Detective, we don't have to-"

"Julia, it would be my pleasure to treat you here. You are a woman who deserves no less than the best food in town," he said, cutting her off.

Julia opened her mouth then shut it, not really sure what to say to that. Blanc got out, walked over to her side of the car and opened her door. Julia stepped out of the car and he shut it, then they walked to the restaurant. As they got inside, Julia looked around. The place was decored in red and mahogany themes, and there were chandeliers all over the place. People in the restaurant were sitting, chatting away at circular tables with red cloths. There was a man playing a piano somewhere inside the dining room.

Benoit and Julia walked up to the hostess. "Hello, how may I help you tonight?" she asked.

"We have a reservation for Blanc," he replied calmly.

Julia gaped at him. _"He made a reservation?"_

The hostess grabbed two menus after checking the list. "Right this way, please."

The couple followed her into the dining room and they were shown to a table by a big bay window. When Julia was about to sit, Benoit pushed her chair in for her and she froze for a moment before letting him be a gentleman and seat her. When she was seated, she thanked him and he went to his seat. A waiter came by with a wine list.

"Would you both care for some wine?" the waiter asked.

Julia looked at Benoit and shrugged. "Would you like some wine?"

Benoit smirked and looked at the waiter. "What would you recommend?" he asked the waiter.

"We have a '69 Merlot that I highly recommend, sir. It goes well with chicken and duck. We have a '74 Zinfandel, which I would have if you're eating pasta."

 _"Well, we are at an Italian restaurant. I'm probably going to have pasta,"_ Julia thought.

"Hmm. Let's do the Zinfandel," Blanc said. "Is that okay with you, Julia?"

Julia nodded. "Sure. That's fine."

The waiter smiled and walked off. Julia sighed and picked up her menu. As she was skimming it, she noticed the detective was staring at her. She cocked her head to one side and gave him a curious look.

"What?"

Benoit blinked a few times. "I'm sorry. As I said in the car, I can't keep my eyes off of you."

Julia felt heat rush to her cheeks and smiled. "You're just being silly now," she giggled.

Benoit shook his head. "No, I'm quite serious. You're beautiful."

More heat filled her cheeks and she cleared her throat. "Thank you."

Benoit flashed his teeth at her and they both picked up their menus. The waiter came by with their wine and filled their glasses, then they ordered their food. As the time passed, they talked a bit about their interests and childhood memories. Some of them were quite funny but Julia did her best to avoid topics surrounding Ransom. It would just make her sad, remembering who he was as a child. He was a nasty little shit back then, but not as much as he was now.

When the food came, Julia opted out of eating like a pig. She had chicken alfredo while Benoit had beef ravioli. They drank their wine but Benoit cut himself off after the second glass. Julia did the same. They both had water after that.

At some point during the meal, while Benoit was talking about a fishing trip he went on with his father and brother, Julia spotted three people that she instantly recognized and blanched.

 _"Shit! It's the Hellers!"_ she thought.

"Julia, what's wrong?" the detective asked. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Julia laughed nervously and stood up. "I need to use the bathroom."

Before Benoit could say anything, Julia grabbed her clutch and almost ran towards the bathroom. She got in, walked to a stall, locked the door and sat on the toilet seat, her heart beating a million times per second. Or at least that's what it felt like.

_"Oh my God, what the hell are they doing here?"_

Her phone buzzed and she opened her clutch to check it. It was from Blanc.

_Is everything okay? Are you not feeling well?_

Julia sighed and typed a response.

_I saw some people I used to know. Things did not end well between us. I'm terrified that they'll see me._

She was about to press send, but then she erased the message.

 _"No, I can't let him in on my emotional baggage. Not when things are going so well_ , _"_ she thought miserably.

Her phone buzzed again.

_Julia?_

Julia closed her eyes tightly before opening them and texting Benoit.

_I'm fine._ _Just have an upset stomach._

Suddenly the door was being banged on and Julia gasped, her heart jumping into her throat.

"Julia Drysdale, I know you're in there!" a woman shouted. "You come out right this instant!"

Julia put her head in her hands. _"Fuck!"_ she thought. _"This is not good."_

"I'm warning you Julia! You come out now or I'll break down the god damn door!"

More banging was heard and it was so strong the door was shaking. Julia heard her phone buzz and she checked it.

_Who is yelling in the bathroom? Are you okay?_

Julia almost burst into silent tears and texted the detective back.

_I'm getting harassed by someone. Please get me out of here!_

Julia almost dropped her phone when the stall door slammed open. It was none other than Kelly Heller standing there, looking like a bull that was about to charge her.

"You bitch! What are you doing here?!" Kelly demanded with a screech.

Julia, with what little confidence she could muster, stood up from the seat and cleared her throat. Her heart was pounding and she tried her best to keep her breathing under control. "Kelly. Please calm down," she said.

"No I will not calm down!" Kelly shouted. "You deserve every bit of anger and hate that I have towards you!"

The bathroom door opened and a few men came walking in. "Alright. What is the meaning of this?"

Kelly pointed at Julia. "This bitch killed my sister!"


	10. The Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a little trouble with this chapter because I know Benoit is a true gentleman but I feel like I possibly went a little OOC with him in a certain scene. Still, I'd like your guy's input in that so if you could leave a comment and let me know, I'd appreciate it.

Julia shut her eyes and took a deep breath. This was not good. Her hands were clenched at her sides and her teeth were grinding. She opened her eyes and stared at Kelly.

"Kelly, I don't know how many times I can apologize for what happened to Alice," Julia said softly.

"Nothing you do or say will ever be enough!" Kelly barked. "You should be in jail for what you did!"

The men came over and one of then grabbed Kelly by the arm. "Come on, miss, that's enough. It's time for you to leave."

Kelly struggled in his grasp. "Take your damn hands off me!"

The other two men helped "escort" Kelly out of the bathroom, her screaming all along the way. Julia sat back down on the toilet and bowed her head. Suddenly her phone buzzed.

_Please come out of the bathroom. That woman has been forced to vacate the premises._

Julia sighed and shook her head, responding to his text.

_Alright, just give me a moment so I can collect myself._

Julia took some deep breaths. She never liked being reminded about what had happened to Alice Heller, and every time she was reminded, guilt ate away at her heart and soul.

Julia stood up from the toilet and walked to the sinks, checking her reflection in the mirror. Nothing was out of place. She took one more deep breath and walked out of the bathroom. Blanc was standing right in her way with a worried look on his face. He took his hands and grasped her face, staring at her like she was about to break.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Julia nodded slowly, her mouth suddenly dry. "Yeah. I'm alright."

He still looked concerned as he lowered his hands. "She didn't hurt you or anything, did she?"

"No. She just screamed at me, is all."

He took her hand and led her back to the table. "Do you wanna get outta here?"

"No, it's okay. We can finish dinner."

Benoit helped her to her seat before going to his. Julia suddenly realized she had lost her appetite, so she just stared down at her food. She began picking away at it with her fork, though, and forced herself to eat anyway. Still staring down at her plate, she avoided Benoit's gaze.

"Did you hear what she was yelling about?" Julia asked quietly.

"I heard snippets. Somethin' about a sister and jail," he replied.

 _"Oh thank God!_ _But I'm so embarassed, how can I ever go on a date with him again after this debacle?"_

"Okay," she said softly.

Still not meeting his eyes, she continued to eat her food slowly. She felt eyes on her from others and she slowly looked around to see gapes and stares.

"Julia, look at me." Julia hesitated at first, but then she lifted her face to look at him. "I assume you do not wish to discuss what happened in that bathroom?" Julia nodded her head and Blanc let out a soft sigh, his fingers laced together in front of his mouth. "Do you want me to take you home?"

Julia frowned. _"He probably wants nothing to do with me now."_

"Sure, if that's what you want," she mumbled, lowering her eyes once more.

Blanc stopped a nearby waiter and asked for two take home boxes and the check. Julia felt her heart sink. She was so embarassed and ashamed of what happened.

She cleared her plate into the take home box once they came, grabbed her clutch and immediately went outside, not even bothering to wait for Blanc. She walked to his car and waited for him to unlock it. Much to her surprise, he came around her side and opened the door for her. She thanked him shyly and got in.

The ride back to her house was a quiet one and Julia had to fight tears the entire way home. Tears of embarassment over what happened at the restaurant, tears of shame for what happened to Alice, and tears of regret that Benoit would probably never want to see her again fought hard to come through but she stayed strong. When they arrived, Julia looked at him.

"Thank you for dinner," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," he said. "Let me walk you to your door."

Julia frowned. "Detective, that's really not necessary. I'm a big girl, I can handle you not wanting to...to continue this."

"What? Julia, what are you-"

Before he could finish, Julia opened the door and walked out, hurrying to her front door. She opened her clutch, looking for her keys when she heard footsteps behind her. She stiffened when she felt a hand on her arm and was pulled around gently.

"Julia, what ever did you mean by that?" Blanc asked her with a sad face.

"I meant after that...scene with the bathroom that you wouldn't want to see me again," she uttered, looking him in the eyes. "That was a lot for you to deal with, especially on the first date, and-"

"Julia."

"And I'll tell you right now, I have a horrible history with that woman and her family, the Hellers, and-"

"Julia," Blanc repeated.

"I understand if you don't want to deal with the emotional baggage and-"

Blanc pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers, cutting her speech off completely and making her moan in surprise _._

_"Oh God, he's kissing me._ _Hell yes..."_

Julia opened her mouth to invite him in, putting her arms around his neck after dropping her things to the ground. Her pasta made a loud splat and she pulled back to look down.

"Oh shit," she groaned. "I dropped my food."

Blanc laughed a little. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you drop that."

"It's okay. I just..." she sighed and bent down to pick up her food container and clutch. Some of the pasta had fallen out. "It's okay. I'm sure a raccoon will come by to eat it."

Blanc laughed even more. "Well, that's probably true."

Julia stood up straight and looked Blanc in the eye. "Anyway, as I was saying, I-"

Blanc held up a hand. "Julia, it is my intention to take you out on more dates."

"...Really? Even with what happened at the restaurant?"

Blanc nodded and closed the gap between them. "You thought that little scene had scared me off?"

"Yes."

"It did not."

Julia gulped as she looked at his eyes. "Oh."

"However, I do apologize for kissin' you without askin', first. It was very-"

Julia leaned up and placed a kiss on his mouth. "You have permission to kiss me, Benoit."

That was all he needed. He embraced her again and kissed her, this time so deep it made Julia's toes curl. This time she held on to her food and clutch. When they both pulled back, they were a little breathless.

"That was...much better than I imagined it would be," Blanc said with a lovesick grin.

Julia raised a brow and smirked. "Oh? Have you been thinking about kissing me?"

"Yes. Quite often."

Julia giggled and pecked his lips softly. "If you wanna come in, I'll make the kissing even better," she whispered.

Benoit's mouth went agape. "Are you sure?"

"It's just kissing, Detective. Or is that too scary for you?" she teased.

Benoit let out a deep chuckle and kissed her. "Find your keys."

Julia opened her clutch while he held her food. She grabbed her keys and unlocked her door, then they walked inside, shut the door and Benoit put her food on the kitchen counter. Julia put her stuff down and looked at him with a twinkle in her eye. She made a "come hither" motion with her finger, smiling devilishly as he crossed the way to her. Blanc's arms enveloped her and his mouth found hers. Julia put her arms around his neck and breathed him in. Suddenly she found herself pinned against a wall and a slow, deep growl vibrated from Blanc's throat. It made Julia want to faint.

 _"Oh, I am_ definitely _sleeping with him. Or is that the wine talking?"_ she thought.

"Benoit?" she mumbled against his lips.

"Mmhmm?" he uttered softly.

"This might be, mmm, the wine talking, but I really, mmmmm, wanna have se-"

Benoit put a finger to her lips, chuckling at her. His eyes were highly dilated. "I would advise you not to finish that sentence."

"Why?"

"Because it is most definitely the wine talkin' and we should not engage in somethin' you might regret in the morning."

Julia pouted at him. "What makes you think I would regret it?"

Blanc rolled his eyes upwards. "Alright," he said, looking at her. "You've got me there, but even so, I don't have, um, protection with me."

He had a point. God, now she was just being stupid. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm feeling a bit vulnerable after today and I...need...comfort, o-or something close to it."

"I understand." He placed a tender kiss on her lips and stroked her cheek. "How about we do the next best thing and watch a movie together since that was the other half of our date?"

Julia smiled up at him. "That sounds like a good idea. I'm game for it."

"Excellent. Now, I'm goin' to go grab my ravioli fron the car, I'm still hungry."

"Me too. I'm gonna...well, slip into something more comfortable."

Blanc laughed and nodded his head. "Alright."

"Just...one thing, though?"

"Yes?"

Julia turned her back to him and lifted her hair to the side. "Could you unzip me?" Silence was her answer for a few moments and she frowned. "I'm sorry, you were just talking about-"

The sound of a zipper hit her ears and she trembled from how slow he was going. When the zipper reached its end, Julia felt tension between her and Benoit, hearing his heavy breathing.

"Detective? Are you alright?" she asked, facing him.

Once more, his eyes were dark.

"Yes, I was..." Blanc ahemed and shook his head as if to clear it. "My apologies, but I was...lookin' at you and I shouldn't have."

"That's okay. I love that you're a gentleman, but I do love me a bad boy, too."

Benoit's mouth went agape and his eyes widened. "I..."

Julia leaned up and kissed him softly. "I'll be right back."

She turned and walked to her stairs, then ascended them and went to her bedroom.

_"Well, this is certainly going better now..."_

She slipped out of her shoes and the dress, then went to her dresser to find a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. Julia then put those on and grabbed her shoes and dress, placing them back into the closet. She also noticed she'd left the other outfit from before on her bed so she put that away as well. She went to her bathroom and started cleaning all her makeup off.

_"Geez, what a day. Ransom going to jail for murder, then Kelly Heller showing up at the restaurant on the verge of killing me. Well, at least it can't get any worse. It can only get better."_

Once her face was all clean, she dried it with a hand towel and left the bathroom. She turned off the lights to her bathroom, walk in closet and bedroom before leaving and going down the stairs. When she got to the foot of the steps, Benoit was waiting for her with both boxes of leftovers. He'd dressed down and was now only in a white tank top and his black slacks. And god, what a sight he was. His bare arms were muscled and veiny. And such broad shoulders, too.

_"And that stomach. Jesus, he's...god, I hope he has a V."_

"Let me get some forks. You want anything to drink?" she asked, clearing her throat and walking to the kitchen.

"I'll just have water, thanks," he replied.

She grabbed forks from a drawer and two water bottles from the fridge, then she walked back to him. "Alright, let's go downstairs."

They both went to the basement and set up on the couch, setting down their food and drinks on the table before them. Julia turned on the tv and went to her movie collection, which was a whole other shelf by the bar.

"What type of movie are you in the mood for? We can watch an old one if you like."

He got from the couch as she opened up the wooden doors that held all her movies. Blanc whistled at how much she had. "How long did it take you to accumulate such a collection?"

"Oh, quite some time," she replied gently. She went to the oldies section and started browsing. "So, what kind of movie?"

"An old one is fine. You got anything with Clark Gable?"

Julia burst out laughing. "Do I have anything with Clark Gable, he says. Of course I do."

Benoit walked up behind her and looked around at all her movies. "Do you have "It Happened One Night"?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Julia started looking for it and eventually found it. "Aha, here we go."

She grasped the DVD and walked to her entertainment system, powered it up and pressed the eject button. She opened the case, took out the movie and put it in, then she went to the couch, grabbed the remote and waited for the prompt to come up before pressing play. Once that happened, Julia opened her food box and started digging in.

The detective did the same with his food and soon the movie started playing. Old fashioned music was heard from her surround sound speakers, a mixture of wind and string instruments flowing from them. The credits appeared on the screen and Julia took another bite of food.

The movie finally started with a picture of a yacht on the screen. A man began arguing with another about his daughter not eating.

_"Hunger strike, eh? How long has this been going on?"_

_"She hasn't had a thing yesterday or today."_

_"Sent the meals up to her regularly?"_

_"Yes, sir."_

_"Then why don't you jam it down her throat?"_

Julia snorted and Benoit laughed. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just thought that was funny," she replied.

_"Have some food brought up to her."_

_"Yes, sir."_

Julia and Benoit ate their food as the movie went on. By the time they got to the part with Clark Gable arguing with the driver on the bus, their food was almost finished.

_"Oh, a fresh guy, huh? What you need is a good sock on the nose."_

_"Now listen, partner. You may not like my nose but I do. I always wear it out in the open where if anyone wants to take a sock at it, they can do it."_

_"Oh, yeah?"_

_"Now that's a pretty good answer. Why didn't I think of it? Our conversation could've been over long ago."_

Julia stuffed the last bit of alfredo into her mouth and sighed happily. "Damn, that was some good food."

Blanc hummed and leaned back on the couch. "I told you, nothin' but the best food in town for you."

Julia grinned and snuggled up against him. He put an arm around her and they went back to watching the movie.

* * *

The movie ended with an orchestra of music once again playing and Julia stretched, feeling some bones in her back pop and crack.

"Well, that was a good movie, wasn't it?" Julia asked.

"Yes," Blanc replied, checking the time on his phone. "Hmm, still early."

Julia grinned at him. "Would you like to watch another one? Think of it as a double feature."

"Yes, that would be delightful."

Julia smiled brightly before getting up and grabbing the movie they just watched from her DVD player. She put it back in the case and walked to her movie collection, putting the movie back in its place and browsing for another one.

"How about something a bit more...recent?" she asked. "Do you like Whoopi Goldberg?"

"I am a fan of her movies," Blanc replied.

"Cool. Because I have a very underrated movie in here that she was in. A really good spy comedy."

"Oh?"

Julia found the movie she was looking for, grabbed it and presented it to Blanc. "Jumpin' Jack Flash". Ever heard of it?"

"No, I have not."

"Well, I highly recommend it. If it bores you, we can watch something else."

"Alright. Put it in."

Julia skipped to her tv and put the movie in, then she went to the couch, grasped the remote and pressed play when the intro screen loaded. The movie started with a view of New York City, back when the Twin Towers still stood proudly over the bay. A radio clip was heard from a man and Julia once again cuddled up to Blanc. He happily obliged her by wrapping an arm around her and relaxing.

The movie started playing "Set Me Free" by the Pointer Sisters just as Whoopi Goldberg was getting out of bed.

"Why is she wearing all those clothes and those...penguin slippers?" Blanc asked.

"Her heater doesn't work for shit," Julia said, giggling away.

Whoopi started banging on her heater.

_"How 'bout some heat?! I'm not an eskimo!"_

Benoit laughed a little at that part. They continued watching when Julia had an idea.

"Do you want some popcorn or anything?" she asked.

"No, that's alright. I'm still full from the ravioli," he replied.

The music kept playing on the movie as Whoopi was getting ready for her work day. Julia relaxed more against Benoit and he lifted her head by her chin, kissing her softly. Julia was amazed at how comfortable she felt around the man. How good he made her feel. It was as if they'd been dating for quite some time. Julia kissed him back with a smile and it suddenly became a bit more than a simple kiss. It got heated.

Julia adjusted herself to sit on the man, straddling him as she kissed him almost desperately. Benoit ran a hand through her hair and gripped some of her locks while his other hand rested on the small of her back. She moaned against his lips and he groaned against hers.

 _"I can't get enough of this man,"_ she thought. _"I need him so damn much."_

Julia felt him raise her up and position her on her back, resting comfortably on top of her as they laid on the couch.

"Oh Benoit..." she moaned softly, wrapping her arms around him and grasping his shirt with her fingers.

* * *

They spent the rest of the movie making out. When it was over and the credits were rolling, Julia giggled suddenly.

"What's so funny?" Benoit asked, letting up on the kissing of her mouth and onto her neck.

"We missed the whole movie," she laughed.

"What?" Benoit said surprise before looking at the tv screen. "Sweet beans!"

Julia cackled while raising her head back. "Well, guess we'll just have to watch it next time."

Benoit smiled at her. "Next time, huh?"

She looked into his eyes and grinned. "Yes. Wasn't it your intention to take me out on more dates?"

"Of course."

"Then it's settled."

The detective smiled once more at her. "I've never spent so long kissin' a woman before."

This surprised Julia. "Never?"

He shook his head. "Never."

Julia smirked before kissing his throat. "I must be someone special, then."

"You are."

Julia felt her cheeks flush. "Aww..."

Benoit ran a hand down her side and pecked her mouth a few times. "I should probably go home."

"Well, it is getting late," Julia surmised, placing soft, butterfly kisses on his lips as well.

"Yeah."

They instantly went back to kissing and Julia moaned loudly. "Or we could spend the next couple of hours making out again."

"We could do that."

"Yeah," Julia said breathlessly before they began doing just that, speaking in between kisses. "You could even, mmm, spend the whole, mmm, night here just, mmm, kissing me."

"Wouldn't that be, mmm, a little, mmm, inappropriate on the, mmmmm, first date?"

"At this time, I, mmm, don't care about society's, mmmmm, views on first date, mmm, decorums."

Benoit let out a big belly laugh and stared down at her with a broad smile. "Is that so, Miss Drysdale..."

"Yes." Julia glanced at his lips and saw how red and swollen they were. Hers felt similar. "However, we could take a break from kissing, if you want. We can try watching the movie again."

Benoit chuckled deeply. "Yes. Our lips might start bleedin' if we continue to let our hormones go awry."

Julia giggled softly and nodded. "I know, but kissing you is so...so..." Julia paused, trying to find the right words.

"Exhilaratin'?" he finished for her.

"Yes."

They both smiled at each other before pressing their lips together once more.

_"Oh boy..."_

Suddenly there was a loud crash and a kathunk as Julia's house alarm started blaring in her ears. Benoit immediately lifted his body up to look at the stairs.

"What in the world?" he said.

Julia pushed him off gently, rolled off the couch and ran to a cabinet behind the bar, adrenaline rushing through her body. She opened the cabinet to reveal a safe, then pressed some numbers on it. Benoit appeared at her side.

"What are you doing?" he asked her in disbelief.

It beeped and clicked open. "Getting my gun," she said calmly as a Glock and a couple fully loaded clips were seen.

"You have a gun?!"

Julia loaded the clip, the gun making a soft click before she stood up.

"Of course I have a gun!" she barked before aiming at the floor and walking to the stairs. "Don't _you_ have a gun?"

"Yes, but not on me!" Benoit followed her and stopped her. "Do you want me to take the gun and look?"

Julia rolled her eyes. She wanted to feel cool and stalk around her house with her gun but she had a feeling the detective would just argue with her, so she gave him the gun before walking to a closet.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She opened the closet and grabbed a wooden baseball bat. "Grabbing this."

Benoit smirked before going up the stairs with Julia behind him, the alarm still going off. When they got to the top, Benoit started scanning around the place with the gun raised. He walked through to the kitchen towards the living room while she went to the garage door. She opened it and raised her bat high, almost expecting someone to pop out at her. She turned on the lights but only saw her four cars in the garage and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Julia," Benoit called out.

When he said her name she turned and walked through the kitchen and to the living room. There was a broken window. On the floor was shattered glass and a brick. Julia tilted her head to the side and looked at Benoit. He had a very grave expression on his face.

"What the fuck..." she said, glancing back down at the brick. "Who the fuck throws bricks through windows these days?"

She sighed and walked back through the kitchen to her front door, pushing numbers on her alarm. It made the loud alarm stop. Suddenly her landline started ringing and she walked to the kitchen to answer it.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

_"Yes, this is Securitron Services. We just got a notification that your house's alarm went off."_

"Yes, someone threw a brick at my window and broke it. As far as I can tell, no one is in my house," she explained.

_"Would you like us to call the police for you?"_

Julia glanced over at Benoit who was holding the brick with a hand towel. There was a note taped to it and she squinted her eyes to read it. It made her gasp.

_"Ma'am, do you require police assistance?"_

"Yes, please. I would appreciate that, thank you," she said, not taking her eyes off the brick.

_"Okay, the police are on their way now. Thank you for using Securitron Services."_

Julia hung up the phone, her mouth agape as she walked closer to Benoit and took another look at the note.

_YOU'RE DEAD!_


	11. Jumpin' Jack Flash

When the police arrived, Julia had managed to calm herself down enough to let them take her statement. Benoit was being questioned by another cop while Julia was talking to Lieutenant Elliot.

"Do you have any idea who could have done this? Any enemies you might have? Anyone with a grudge?" he asked her as they were standing in Julia's kitchen.

Julia nodded. "When the detective and I were at Alfonso's earlier this evening, I was harassed by a woman in the restroom," Julia replied, rubbing her arms down.

Elliot paused his writing and looked at Julia with an arched brow. "He took you to Alfonso's?"

"Yes."

"Damn. He must really like you."

Julia felt the temperature rise in her face and she smiled softly. "Anyway, the woman in the bathroom is named Kelly Heller. We went to high school together."

"And why would this," Elliot waved his pen about, "Kelly attack you in the first place?"

Julia closed her eyes and crossed her arms, letting out a big sigh. "Because she says I'm responsible for the death of her sister Alice."

Elliot stopped writing again and looked at Julia curiously. "Were you?"

Julia looked at the ground. "I...might have had something to do with it," she muttered, shame filling her heart.

"How so?"

Julia raised her head. "I'd rather not say. Just...Kelly and the rest of her family have it out for me, okay? They're the only ones I can think of who might've done this."

"How do they know where you live?"

Julia shrugged. "I don't know, maybe Kelly followed us from the restaurant? But why wait so long to throw a brick through my window?"

"Perhaps they wanted to wait until dark." Elliot put his notepad away and smiled at her. "So, you and Benny, huh?"

Julia was grateful for the change of subject. "Yes."

"Huh." Elliot sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we'll have to keep your house as a crime scene for at least 24 hours. Do you have a place to stay for the time being?"

Julia rubbed her temples. She was getting a headache. "I can stay with Marta, maybe. I just need to call her and ask."

Elliot nodded with a hum. "Alright. I'll be right back," he said before leaving her.

Julia blew out a big breath and grabbed her cell phone. As she looked for Marta's number in her contacts list, Benoit approached her. "Who are you calling?"

Julia selected Marta's name. "Marta. They want to put my house on lock down for a while so I need a place to crash until they're done."

Benoit's brow furrowed and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're more than welcome to stay at my apartment, Julia."

Julia looked at him, her eyes wide. Was he serious? "I...wouldn't want to impose."

"Oh, not at all." He palmed her cheek and stared into her eyes. "Besides, I would most assuredly be able to keep a closer eye on you if you stayed with me."

Julia leaned into his hand and shut her eyes. She was truly touched by his offer, but she was going to decline. This was not his fight to deal with. "I don't want you involved in my drama, Detective."

"I'm already involved," he said, sounding quite determined.

"I don't want you any more involved than you already are," she emphasized, looking up at him with sad eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't want you to get hurt, either."

"Benoit, I-"

"Please," he said, looking and sounding as if he was begging. "I would feel much better if you were to stay at my residence."

Julia sighed, knowing he wasn't going to let up. _"He must care about me_ a lot _,"_ she thought. _"How, though? We haven't even known each other a whole week."_

Suddenly the corner of her lip quirked up. "You're very stubborn, you know that?"

Benoit chuckled lightly. "Yes, I am well aware of this fact," he said, pulling her in close. "Will you please stay with me?"

Julia rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh fine..."

Blanc smiled brightly at her. "Thank you. Do you have a night bag?"

"Yes. I'll just be a few minutes with it."

Benoit let her go and Julia jogged up the stairs to her bedroom. As she started filling a small blue wheeled suitcase with some clothes, undergarments, her laptop and a few other necessities, Julia looked over at her nightstand where she kept her other gun. Actually, she had several guns stashed around the house. Julia wasn't necessarily a gun nut but she believed in protecting herself and her home. She walked to the nightstand and grabbed the other Glock she owned out of the safe and loaded a clip before stashing the gun underneath her clothes in the suitcase. Better to be safe than sorry.

When she went downstairs, Benoit was already back in his whole suit and shoes. "Are you ready to leave? The police said you do not have to stay any longer."

Julia nodded. "Oh, should I grab a few movies? I still want you to see "Jumpin' Jack Flash"."

Benoit nodded with a grin. "Sure, go ahead."

Julia let go of the suitcase handle and went downstairs to grab that movie and some others.

* * *

By the time they got to Benoit's apartment, it was well past midnight. When Julia walked in, she took in the place. It was really nice. Navy blue walls with various posters of old movies hanging up, beige carpeting, a black leather couch, a black leather recliner, a flat screen on the wall, a modest entertainment system and...a record player? It looked authentically vintage, but Julia wasn't sure if it was.

After removing their fall coats, Benoit, still holding Julia's suitcase (since he insisted on carrying it for her), turned to walk down the hallway. "Hey, where are you going with my bag?" she asked, following him.

He stopped and pivoted around to face her. "To the bedroom."

Julia's brow raised up. "Detective, I can sleep on the couch."

Benoit gave her an "are you kidding?" look. "Nonsense. I'll take the couch, you can take the bed."

Julia sighed and walked after him to the bedroom, which had similar decorations of posters. "Tarzan and His Mate" and "My Fair Lady" caught her eye. "Hmm, Audrey Hepburn fan?" she asked.

"Oh yes, most definitely," he said, setting the suitcase on the floor next to his double sized bed. "She was one classy lady."

Julia could agree on that. She went to his bed and sat on it, admiring the dark blue sheets and blanket. "You have a nice place."

"Thank you," he said, looking down at her. "Would you like to go to sleep now?"

Julia rubbed her hands on her face. "I guess. It is pretty late."

Benoit sat on the bed next to her. "How are you feelin'?"

"Frazzled. Very frazzled."

He put an arm around her shoulders and his brows crinkled down. "Are you goin' to be able to rest?"

"...I don't know," Julia mumbled with uncertainty in her voice. Julia huffed and leaned her head on Benoit's lap. "I just want to forget about today."

"Well, surely you don't want to forget _everythin'_ about today, do you?" he asked, stroking her hair softly.

Her eyes drifted up to him and she let out a soft giggle. "No, I don't."

"Good." Blanc lifted her head and placed a very soft kiss on her lips. "I don't want you to forget this."

"Oh, I could _never_ forget that," she said, her face beaming up at him. Benoit's throat rumbled with a deep chuckle and Julia maneuvered herself around to straddle his thighs, resting her forearms on his shoulders as she grinned at him with the devil in her eye. "In fact, I think you better kiss me again to ensure that I never forget it."

Benoit grasped her hips and yanked her closer before pulling her head down and kissing her hard. She pressed herself against him and gasped into his mouth with a whimper. Their hands were all over each other and they spent a good five minutes making out before they stopped to take a break.

Benoit rested his forehead on her chest plate and wheezed out a laugh. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"I cannot stop kissin' you, it's almost maddening," he replied with a laugh.

"I know," she said, almost giggling like a chipmunk. "We should stop and let our lips rest."

"We should go to bed."

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep," she said with a deep set frown. "I'm still too worked up from today."

Benoit sighed and raised his head, looking up at her. "Well, we could try watchin' that movie again until you get tired."

Julia tilted her head to the side, glancing down at him and into his crystalline blue eyes. _"He has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on a man."_

"I suppose we could do that, if that's alright with you," she said. Benoit gave her one last peck before lifting her up. She squealed and clung to his body as he held her up. "Wow, you're strong for a...how old are you, anyway?"

"50."

Julia blinked madly. "You're 50? Really?"

Benoit suddenly looked a little self-conscious. "Does that bother you?"

"No, of course not! I just...you look so much younger than 50. I thought you were, like, 44, 45 at the most!" she exclaimed, then she started giggling loudly. "Oh, wait until my mother hears about this!"

Benoit smiled and started walking from the bedroom to the hallway. "What about your mother?"

"Well," Julia grinned down at him, "she was very much opposed to me going out on a date with you."

"Oh, was she now?"

"Yes. Complaining that you had to be, at least, 15 years my senior and blah blah blah..."

"Well, I hate to ask as a gentleman should never ask a woman's age, but how old are you?"

Now it was Julia's turn to feel unsure of herself. "...32," she said in a shy tone. "I hope that doesn't bother you."

Benoit smiled, walking and gracefully putting her on the couch. "No, it does not. Harassed in a restroom, a brick thrown through your window...you think your age would scare me off after all that?"

Julia shrugged a little. "Well, maybe..."

Benoit chuckled and kissed her softly as he bent down before her. "No. I don't scare easily, Miss Drysdale. Take care to remember that." He stood up straight and clapped his hands once. "Now, how about that movie?"

Once Julia had grabbed the movie from her suitcase and put it in Blanc's entertainment system, Julia plopped back onto the couch, still in her pajamas. She was waiting for Benoit to come out of his room. He was changing out of his suit. When he walked out on nothing but black sweatpants and a white tank top, Julia felt herself about to drool over him as her eyes bugged out. He cocked his head, studying her curiously.

"Is somethin' the matter?" he asked coolly.

"No, you're just...wow," she replied.

"Wow?"

"You're _hot_ _!_ _"_

Benoit leaned back and laughed. "I see," he said, chuckling to himself as he walked to the couch.

He got down and pressed play on the movie. Once again, the twin towers appeared as a man on the radio was talking. The movie then showed Whoopi's apartment and Benoit pressed the fast forward button.

"Let's skip to the part we last saw," he said. He stopped at the point where Whoopi was just leaving her apartment and he laughed. "Those shoes..."

_"Hey Mr. Finzi, how you doin' man?"_

_"Heeey!"_

"I know. She has red ones too, if I recall correctly."

Benoit hummed when Whoopi walked into the bank. "I know that building. That's the First National Bank."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot you lived in New York City for awhile. Where are you actually from, anyway?"

"I'm from Mississippi."

"Aha. I see."

Benoit looked at her with a confused look. "You couldn't tell by my accent?"

"No. I just knew you were southern."

"Oh." Benoit looked back at the movie and wrapped an arm around Julia as she snuggled up to him.

_"Larry, Larry, Larry! You get any closer, honey, and you're gonna be a father!" Whoopi said._

Benoit guffawed at the line. "My Lord, that security officer..."

Julia giggled. "I know. He's a real dog."

As they continued watching the movie, Julia felt her eyes getting heavy. It was around the time when Whoopi Goldberg was doing the Jagger step around to the song "Jumpin' Jack Flash" while trying to write down the lyrics.

_"I was raised by, wait, no, two lesbians? Come on, Mick! Fuck a duck!"_

_I was crowned..._

_"I was crowned..."_

_..._ _with a spike through my head..._

_"With a spike through my head? This has got some weird ass lyrics!"_

The music kept playing as Whoopi danced around, still trying to write down the lyrics.

_I was drowned..._

_"I was drowned...in da fu fa fiddy aye...Mick, Mick, Mick! Speak English!"_

Julia's eyes fluttered wide open when Benoit started laughing. "This movie is hilarious, Julia," he said.

Julia chuckled and rested her head on his lap. "Mmhmm, I know," she mumbled.

He started stroking her brown hair. "Are you gettin' tired now?"

"Mmhmm, but I wanna watch the movie with you..."

"We can pause it and watch it tomorrow."

Julia yawned loudly. "No no, let's, mmm, keep watching..."

Benoit chuckled, still stroking her hair. "Okay."

By the time Whoopi walked into the British Consulate, Julia finally fell asleep.

* * *

Julia slowly woke up, squeezing her eyes open and shut. She was in Benoit's bed. "Hmm? I don't remember coming in here," she said to herself.

The smell of breakfast hit her and she grinned happily, sitting up and stretching. Her back popped a few times and she got up, walking out the bedroom door and down the hallway where the smell of breakfast got stronger.

 _"Oh god...did he make sausage?! I love sausage!"_ she thought.

She peeked around the corner to see Benoit in his kitchen cooking what was, in fact, sausage patties. The sizzling of the patties was like music to her ears. Julia also noticed that there was a plate of waffles and scrambled eggs on the kitchen table, along with a glass of orange juice.

"What in the hell?" she said out loud.

Benoit raised his head and smiled at her. "Oh. You're up. I, uh, made you some breakfast."

Julia walked in with her mouth agape. "You...you made me breakfast? Why?"

Benoit laughed as he poked at the sausages. "Because I deduced that you would be famished this morning."

She was, in fact, rather hungry. Julia walked over to the table and Benoit pushed her chair in as she sat down. Wow, such a gentleman. This was so touching that she almost wanted to cry.

"Benoit, I...thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, walking back to the kitchen. He came back to the table with the pan of sausage patties and put them on her plate. "Here you go, my dear. Waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and orange juice."

Julia looked up at him, shocked. "How...how did you know how I like my eggs? How did you know I like sausage patties? How did you know that I like orange juice?"

The bridge of Benoit's nose flushed and he cleared his throat. "Lucky guess."

She raised a brow. "A lucky guess?"

"Mmhmm," Benoit said, drinking some coffee. Julia gave him a "yeah, right" expression and he sighed with his lips puckered. "Alright, you got me. I called Marta and inquired about your breakfast preferences."

Julia's brow crinkled up. "You called Marta to ask how I like my breakfast?"

"Yes. I already was aware of the waffle bit, but...I wanted you to have a good morning."

 _"Oh, this guy is...wow_ _,"_ she thought. _"I am definitely making out with him once I'm done eating."_

"What else did you guys talk about?" she asked, grabbing some salt and shaking it over her eggs.

"Well, I did tell her about what occurred last night. I hope that wasn't too presumptuous of me to do so."

"No no, it's fine. I would have told her anyway." Julia grabbed the syrup and poured some over her waffles. "Was she worried?"

"A little, but I assured her that you are safe."

"She didn't give you a hard time about me spending the night on the first date?" Julia asked as she cut up her waffles.

Benoit chuckled. "No, she did not."

She took a bite of waffles and rolled her eyes into the back of her head with a moan. "Oh God...you make a mean waffle, Benoit," she mumbled with food in her mouth. She chewed, swallowed and took a bite of sausage. "Oooh, dear Lord."

Benoit laughed and sat down next her at the table. "I'm glad you're enjoyin' the food."

She took a drink of orange juice, then she paused. "Is this...is this fresh squeezed orange juice?!"

Benoit smirked and jerked his head towards the kitchen. Julia turned and saw orange peels in the garbage.

 _"Fuck,"_ she thought, looking back at him with a shocked look. _"I think I'm in love with him._ _No no no, don't think like that. I need to keep my guard up. This man will probably leave me if he finds out what happened to Alice_ _, or if something else dramatic happens. Or if I let him in too much. Or I-"_

"Julia, are you alright?" Benoit asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Just...I...no one's ever made me breakfast before. At least not like this," she said with a frog in her throat, gesturing at her plate. "No one's ever taken the time to do what you just did, calling someone to ask how I like my eggs, and-"

"Julia," Benoit said.

"And you just...did it without complaint or reason. I mean, it's wonderful of you, it truly is, but just what kind of man does this for a woman he barely knows? And-"

"Julia."

"And...and how did I get into the bed last night? I don't remember getting off the couch!"

"I carried you in there."

Julia's mouth dropped. "You...you put me in the bed?"

"Yes."

Julia felt her emotional threshold break. _"Yep. I'm definitely in love with this man, he's so good to me."_ Julia suddenly burst into tears and covered her face. _"Oh my god, I gotta pull myself together!"_

"Did I do somethin' wrong?" Benoit asked, sounding worried.

"No, no...I'm sorry," Julia said, sniffling. "I'm just...overwhelmed right now. You know, about Granddad and Ransom and Kelly Heller and the shit that happened yesterday with her at the restaurant and the brick and the note and now you...making me breakfast, it's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me, and...I..." Julia suddenly started sobbing, keeping her face covered. "I'm sorry to freak out like this in front of you."

Julia's hands were removed from her face and she looked at Benoit. He looked deeply concerned as he held her hands. "It's okay. I understand you've been through the runner, chickapin."

Julia sniffled again, taking her hands and wiping her eyes. "What's a chickapin?"

"It's a term of endearment, my dear."

Julia giggled and sniffed. "Oh. Is that a southern thing?"

"Somewhat."

Julia laughed a little and looked down. "You must think I'm, I dunno...crazy."

"No, I do not."

Julia looked at him with a soft smile. "Really?"

"Mmhmm," he hummed with a nod. "Now eat your food before it gets cold."

Julia nodded, wiped her eyes and dug into her food again. Luckily it was still warm. Benoit watched her intently for a few minutes before standing up and kissing the top of her head. "I didn't mean to make you cry, though."

"It's okay. I thought I had cried myself out yesterday, guess I still had some left in the bank."

"The bank?" Benoit asked curiously.

"Yeah. The bank. The emotional bank. Something my mom used to say when I was a kid," Julia said, finishing up her eggs. "What...so what are you doing today? You got any cases to work on?"

"No, I do not," he replied, drinking more of his coffee. "However, I was plannin' on goin' down to the police station to see where they're at on your case."

Julia stopped her fork halfway. _"Oh no...he's gonna find out what I told Elliot about Alice."_

"I...don't think that's a good idea," Julia said, putting her fork down. "I'd much rather you stay here with me."

"But Julia-"

"If they find something, they'll call me. You don't have to go all the way over there just to find out they have nothing yet," she spoke, looking up him with sad, puppy eyes. "Please don't go."

Benoit frowned down at her. "Julia, this is serious. We-"

Julia stood up and turned to him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her lips to his as she breathed through her nose. Benoit tensed for a moment before relaxing and hooking his arms around her body.

"Please don't leave," she said with a pout before pecking his lips.

Benoit looked at her suspiciously. "Why don't you want me to leave?"

"Because I'll get lonely if you do," she whined.

Benoit chuckled lightly and kissed her again. "I'll only be gone a little while. I have to run an errand, too. Now finish your breakfast."

Julia started nipping and kissing at his neck, making Benoit tremble against her. "I promise I'll finish my breakfast if you stay."

Benoit laughed a little and arched his head back. "You drive a hard bargain, Miss Drysdale. Alright, I'll stay for a while...but I really do need to go out for that errand."

"What are you going out for?" Julia asked, still kissing his throat.

"Protection."

"Protection?" she asked with a scrunched down brow.

He looked down at her with a sly grin. "A few other things, yes, but protection is my main mission."

Suddenly it clicked with Julia and she blushed. "Oh. You mean-"

"Yes, but we're not doing _that_ quite yet. I'd still like to wait, although..." he murmured, brushing his lips along hers, "I don't know how much longer I can hold out, especially against someone as beautiful and intoxicatin' as you."

Julia's cheeks turned even more red. "Oh, Benoit..." she muttered before kissing him hard.

"It's just, mmm, better to be safe than, mmm, sorry. Do you, mmmmm, know what I mean?"

"Uh huh, mmm, I do." Benoit pulled her into his chest tight and wrapped his fingers in her brown hair. "When, mmm, do you think we can, mmmmm, do it, then?"

"I usually wait until, mmm, the fourth or, mmm, fifth date."

"Mmm, can you wait that long, mmm, with me?"

Benoit pressed her against the dining room wall and kissed her harder. "I, mmm, do not know."

Julia giggled into his mouth and pushed him away gently. "I should finish my food before it gets cold."

"Yes, you should," he said with a grin, pinning her again and kissing behind her jawline. "Or we could heat it back up in the microwave once I'm done kissin' you."

Julia lifted her head with a giggle. "Okay," she whispered.

Benoit laughed loudly before pushing his mouth on hers. Julia pulled him closer, resting her arms on the nape of his neck while smiling into the kiss. Her phone started going off in the bedroom and they both sighed in frustration.

"I better get that," she said. She slipped away from Benoit and rushed to the bedroom. The phone was on the nightstand. She grabbed it and pressed the call button. "Hello?"

_"Hello, Miss Drysdale? This is Lieutenant Elliot."_

"Oh, hi. Um, how's it going?"

_"I'm fine. Do you have a minute to talk?"_

"Yes, I do," she said, feeling warm arms wrap around her body.

_"Good. So we brought in Kelly Heller for questioning this morning. She wasn't hard to find considering the incident this morning."_

Julia raised a brow. "The incident?"

_"She was burning your books from a bookstore in town."_

Julia rolled her eyes. "Oh, great."

"What happened?" Benoit asked.

Julia put her hand over the receiver. "Kelly was burning a bunch of my books in town this morning."

_"Is that Detective Blanc with you?"_

"Yes, it is," Julia replied. "I spent the night at his place. I was going to call Marta but the detective insisted I stay here."

_"That's probably a good thing."_

"It is? Why?"

_"Well, Kelly has an alibi for last night. She wasn't the one who threw the brick at your window._ _"_

Julia's blood ran cold. "Really? Are you sure?"

_"Yes. She was with a friend last night and that friend vouched for her._ _"_

"Shit," Julia said.

"What's wrong?" Benoit asked, kissing the back of her neck.

"Kelly wasn't the one who threw the brick," Julia answered.

_"Is there anyone else you can think of who might have done this?"_

Julia bit her lower lip. "Well, maybe."

_"Who?"_

"...My ex husband, Charles Drake."


	12. Stayin' Alive

Julia felt Benoit's arms tense at the mention of her ex-husband and she frowned. This was not how she wanted him to find out she'd been previously married, but this couldn't be helped.

 _"Your ex-husband?"_ Elliot asked on his end of the phone.

Elliot sounded quite shocked at this information. "Yes," Julia replied. "We...didn't end things on good terms. I wanted the divorce, he did not."

_"May I ask why you wanted a divorce?"_

"He was having an affair."

_"I see. And why would you think he might've broken your window?"_

"After the divorce, he was stalking me so I had to file a restraining order." Julia felt Benoit tense more and she rubbed his arm gently.

_"Uh huh. Why didn't you mention this before?"_

"Because I haven't seen him in four years. I didn't think it was relevant at the time."

_"Okay. Would you happen to have his last known address?"_

"Yes. 564 Wriggley Drive, Boston, Massachusetts. "

_"Uh huh. Okay. I'll call you if anything comes up but may I talk to the detective for a moment?"_

"Um, sure." Julia turned her head to look at Benoit. He looked upset. "Elliot wants to speak to you."

Benoit nodded and took the phone from her, walking away with his back turned. "This is Detective Blanc."

Julia walked out of the bedroom to go finish her breakfast but as she sat down, she realized she didn't have much of an appetite. Still, she forced herself to eat. She didn't want to offend her host.

 _"God, I hope it wasn't Charles who threw the brick through my window. He does know where I live but...would he have done this?"_ she thought. _"It's very unlikely, but...no stone unturned, I guess. Oh God, what the detective must think of me now."_

By the time Julia finished her food, Benoit came walking into the kitchen and handed her back the phone. He looked unreadable. "Here you go," he said quietly.

Julia grasped it from him and set it on the table. "Thank you."

After a few silent moments, Benoit cleared his throat and pulled up a chair, sitting down at Julia's side and taking her hands in his own. "Are you okay?"

Julia gave him a sad expression. "I think so. Just...more drama I don't want you involved in, I guess."

Benoit got closer and pressed his lips to her hand. "Julia, you do not have to go through this on your own. I am here for you."

Julia gave him a curt nod and a soft smile. "So what did Lieutenant Elliot want to talk to you about?"

"Oh, just police business. Miss Heller is currently in custody for the offense against your books."

Julia chuckled bitterly. "I see. Well, I don't blame her for wanting to burn my shit."

"Why not?"

Julia tensed up and pulled her hands away from Benoit. "I just...don't."

Benoit frowned at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Julia, you can talk to me. I will not place judgment on you."

 _"Oh, you would if I told you what happened with Alice and why I'm the reason she's dead,"_ Julia thought. _"I don't want to lose you, Benoit."_

Julia sighed and rubbed her face. "Benoit, I can't talk about this. We...I...don't trust that you won't just...leave. We've only known each other a few days. Please understand that I don't...let just anybody in, okay?"

Benoit frowned deeper. "I understand. But how can I prove myself to you, Julia?"

"I need time, Benoit. Just give me time."

He nodded and caressed her face with a finger. "Alright, but for now, let me just say that I won't leave you once you are able to tell me the truth. I promise."

She dared a timid glance at him. "Really?"

"My word is my bond."

Julia smiled softly and leaned her face into his hand. "That's comforting to know."

She was still skeptical, but this was a step in the right direction for her to trust him. Benoit stood up and grabbed her plate, utensils and glass, then walked to the kitchen and began rinsing them off. Julia tried to protest, saying she could rinse and wash them but Benoit was having none of that, explaining that she was his guest.

Once he put them in the dishwasher, he ushered Julia over to the couch so that they could finish the movie they were watching the night before. They shared a few laughs, especially during the scene where Whoopi got her dress caught in the paper shredder and the scene where Whoopi was calling out for Lady Sarah in the Elizabeth Arden salon after having been injected with a "truth serum".

When the movie was done, Julia sat up and cracked her neck and back with a groan.

"Well, I must say that movie was quite marvelous," Benoit commented.

"See? Told you that you'd like it," Julia replied. "Guess I know your tastes better than I thought."

"So it would seem," Benoit said with a smile.

"So what now?"

Benoit pulled Julia to him and kissed her. "I should go run that errand."

Julia grinned and straddled him, licking his lips. Benoit shuddered and she giggled. "Do you have to go right this second?"

Benoit chuckled deeply and shook his head, placing his hands on her hips. "No."

Julia kissed him again, this time biting his lower lip which made Benoit grown in pleasure. She put her hands on his chest to feel him.

 _"He must work out. Sure feels like it,"_ she thought.

Julia's phone rang and she groaned in irritation. "Son of a bitch."

Benoit laughed and let go of her so she could lean over and grab her phone on the side table. It was Marta. She answered it with a hello.

_Julia? It's Marta._

"Oh, hey Marta. What's up?" she asked just as Benoit gripped her waist and started kissing her throat, making her shiver.

_I was wondering if you could pick me up from my apartment? I want to go look at new cars today_ _and I could use your opinion, seeing as how you are with cars._

Julia giggled when Benoit nipped at the flesh of her throat. She put a hand to the receiver and glared down at him playfully.

"Stop it," she whispered with a quiet laugh.

_Julia?_

"Yes, yes, I'm here. Sure, I can...do that," she paused when Benoit scratched her back and kissed her shoulder. "I've been meaning to take you car shopping anyway."

_Oh great! When should I expect you?_

"Oh, I'd say...oooh..." Julia paused again when Benoit kissed her chin and jaw. "Maybe a half hour?"

_Alright, I'll see you then._

"Okay, bye."

Julia hung up the phone and gave Benoit a scolding look. "You're a shit."

Benoit laughed again and took in a deep breath. "I thought you loved bad boys?"

"I do, but I honestly didn't know you had it in you."

"I do. I choose to keep it locked up."

Julia giggled lightly and put her phone back on the side table. "Well, you should let it out more often."

"I shall in time, chickapin."

Julia gave him one more kiss before getting off him. "Anyway, I need to take Marta car shopping."

Benoit narrowed his eyes and pulled her back to him. "Let me kiss you for five more minutes," he said, looking up at her with doe eyes.

"Benoit..." she warned giddily. "I told Marta a half hour."

"I know, I'll make sure you leave on time."

"But I need to change and brush my teeth."

Benoit yanked her down on top of him and she yelped with a giggle. He wrapped his arms around her and licked her neck, making her moan. "You can be a little late," he murmured as he kissed her throat.

Well, she was finding it hard to resist him. "Benoit...I..."

He bit the side of her neck and chuckled when she gasped. "Just five minutes. Let me be a bad boy for five minutes."

Julia felt her inner thighs twitch when he bit her again. "You keep doing that and you can have ten minutes," she breathed.

Benoit growled and laid her down on the couch, overpowering her. He nestled between her legs and kissed her deeply. Julia moaned into his mouth when he rested his hand just under her breast. God, how much she wanted him to touch her. Benoit went just a little further up and Julia moaned again.

"Touch me," she whimpered.

Benoit lifted his head and stared down at her with dark eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Uh huh," she replied with an enthusiastic nod.

Benoit looked down at her chest and Julia watched him gulp as his hand drifted up to her breast. He cupped it before rubbing his thumb along her nipple. Julia arched her back and let out a moan and that seemed to encourage him to do it again. A pinch of her nipple was felt and she gasped loudly.

She could feel herself getting wetter and hotter by the second as he continued playing with her breast and nipple. At one point, Julia bucked her hips and Benoit let out a groan.

"Oh, please don't do that, Julia," he whispered huskily.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," she whispered back. "You're turning me on so much."

"I apologize," he said with a frown. "I cannot seem to help myself around you, either. You drive me to the brink of insanity."

Julia laughed and kissed him softly. "Would it be too much to tell you how wet I am right now because of you?"

His eyes got even darker and he grinned mischeviously. "Yes. That will definitely drive me insane."

Julia smirked up at him. "I'm positively dripping." Suddenly Benoit rolled his hips into her and she arched her back. "Oh, Detective. You're being a bad boy now," she teased.

He did it again and Julia moaned loudly, kissing and sucking on his neck. "Oh yeah," he muttered.

He gripped her hips tightly and growled into her mouth as he dry humped Julia. "I'm...I'm sure it's been five minutes by now."

"Uh huh," he said, kissing her mouth and nibbling on her lip. "I know, I know, but you said ten minutes."

"Yeah but if we keep going, I might just rip all your clothes off and have my way with you," she said, pushing him up and twitching the corner of her lip. "And we wouldn't want that, would we?" she cooed.

Benoit smiled down at her and sighed. "You may be right. I do not know how much longer I can hold out against you, Julia."

"Me neither," Julia said breathlessly. She looked down, feeling his erection on her. "You, um...ahem, are rather large, Detective."

"Am I? Huh, hadn't noticed," he joked.

"You are. How you're gonna fit inside me, I'll never know," she giggled.

Benoit chuckled softly and kissed her earlobe. "You will find out soon enough, my dear," he whispered against her ear. He got up and helped Julia off the couch. "Now, I believe you have an engagement with Miss Cabrera."

Julia smiled, kissed Benoit's cheek and went to go get ready. She changed into a light blue t-shirt, a dark blue sweater and light blue jeans. She put on her tennis shoes, brushed her hair, put it in a ponytail, and then brushed her teeth. Before she left the apartment, Benoit had given her a spare key. Julia was more than happy to have it.

As she drove through town in her Dodge Charger, she sang along to some songs on the radio, only being brave enough to do so in her car. She had a horrible singing voice.

When she arrived at Marta's apartment building, she saw some moving guys. They were clearing out Marta's place, she assumed. Marta was sitting on the steps of the building when Julia honked her horn. Marta got up with a smile and went running to the car. When she got in, she turned to Julia with a devious grin.

"So, all bad things aside from last night, how did everything in between go?" she asked Julia.

Julia blushed profusely and turned away as Marta buckled up. "It went well."

"Uh huh. Give me details, Julia!"

Julia laughed as she pulled away from the curb. "Well, we watched two movies. Well, one, actually. We...got distracted during the second one."

"Distracted?"

Julia eyed Marta for a second before focusing back on the road. "We made out during a whole movie."

"And how long was the movie?"

Julia felt her cheeks flush again. "I don't know. How long is the movie Jumpin' Jack Flash?"

Marta started looking for that very information on her phone, then Marta gasped and her jaw dropped. "You guys made out for almost two hours?!"

Julia laughed. "Uh huh," she said with a nod and a smile. "I couldn't help it. He's so sexy!"

"Oh my God, Julia!"

"Whaaat?" Julia drawled.

Marta shoved her lightly. "What happened next?"

"Well, then when we were still doing that, the brick through my window happened. The cops came, said my house was a crime scene for at least 24 hours, then I went to call you but the detective offered me to stay at his place."

"Uh huh, and theeen?"

Julia laughed again. "Then we tried watching the movie again and I fell asleep. He apparently carried me to his bedroom, he took the couch, I woke up to him making me breakfast..." Julia eyed Marta again. "Thanks for telling him what I like, by the way."

Marta let out a little giggle. "You're welcome. And then?"

Julia sighed sadly. "Then Lieutenant Elliot called. Told me Kelly had an alibi for last night but she was taken in this morning for raiding a book store and setting a bunch of my books ablaze."

Marta gasped. "No!"

"Uh huh!" Julia said with a jutted chin.

"Well, if she wasn't at your house, who was?"

"I told them it could've been Charles. They're looking into it now."

"Does the detective know about your ex?"

Julia jerked her head. "He does _now."_

"Oh dear. Was he upset?"

"He might've been," Julia said with a shrug. "He seemed pretty understanding about it, though. He's been understanding about all of this, so..."

"Does he know about Alice?"

Julia tensed up. "No. I can't dare to tell him about that."

"Why not?"

Julia sighed. "Well, I don't want to lose this guy, Marta. He's a good man. I don't want to scare him off."

"Well, maybe he'll be understanding about this."

Julia frowned. "Marta, Alice died because of me."

Marta sighed. "Julia, you need to forgive yourself for what happened."

"Could you forgive yourself if you were responsible for someone's death?" Julia asked defensively.

"...Well, we thought I was responsible for Harlan's."

Julia's head wobbled. The girl had a point. "True, but you weren't. Even though for a whole week we thought you were, that still doesn't compare to living with the guilt over your head for 16 years."

Marta made a deep set frown. "But you got through the worst of it."

Julia nodded. "Yes, and that was the toughest year of my whole life."

Marta looked out the passenger window. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Julia. Really, I am."

Julia frowned once more and pat Marta on the knee reassuringly. "It's okay. Now, what kind of car should we get you?" Julia asked, desperate to change the subject.

"I don't know, I don't want anything too expensive, though. What do you recommend?"

Julia grinned. "Let's get you a Honda. Reliable, cheap to fix, especially with me as your mechanic, and most models are good in all types of weather."

"Well, you're the expert!" Marta exclaimed happily. "So, did anything good happen this morning?"

"Yes. We finally finished the movie and kissed for a bit, then you called, we made out some more, then I left."

"So, no, um...you know..."

Julia smirked. "No. Apparently he's a "fourth or fifth date" kind of guy before he gets into the real hanky panky. But I have a feeling I'm gonna be the exception to that rule."

"Why's that?"

"Because for a man his age, he's extremely insatiable."

"And how old is he?"

Julia took a deep breath. "50."

"50?!" Marta gasped and smacked Julia's arm. "He's almost 20 years older than you!"

Julia cackled loudly. "I know! But the man is too hot to be 50! I think he's lying!" she joked.

"He sure is! He's like a hot, smoldering southern James Bond kind of hot!"

Julia scoffed playfully and smacked Marta. "Hey now, that's my man you're talking about!"

Marta and Julia both laughed into hysterics. "Oh wow, Julia. I think you got real lucky with this one."

"I think I did, too."

Julia made a left and turned into the Honda dealership parking lot. She turned the car off after parking and both the women got out of the car. They looked around at all the new Hondas and Marta squealed.

"I can't believe I can afford a new car!" Marta exclaimed.

"I'm so happy for you, Marta. You deserve this," Julia explained.

The girls walked into the building and a man in a generic suit, looking to be in his thirties walked up to them. "Hello, ladies. How can I help you?"

"We're browsing for a new car," Julia said. "Well, she is. I want to make sure she finds the best that she can buy."

"I can certainly help with that. What kind of model were you thinking?" the man asked.

"What do you think, Julia?" Marta inquired.

"Hmm," Julia said, looking around at the cars inside. "I'd recommend a CR-V, but that's just me. Perhaps a Honda RDX A Spec instead? You got any that might be turbocharged?"

The salesman blinked in surprise. "As a matter of fact, we do. You must know a bit about cars, huh?"

"Oh, just some things here and there," Julia said modestly.

"Well, let me show you some of our latest models for the CR-V, then I'll show you the RDX's."

Marta and Julia were escorted out of the building with the salesman and brought over to the CR-V section of the lot. There were many in different colors but Marta was partial to the blue ones. They took one out for a test drive but Marta was unsure if she liked it. Then they went to the RDX section and Marta picked out another blue car. They took that one out for a test drive and Marta liked the RDX a little better than the CR-V. When they got back to the lot, Marta was excited.

"Hey, don't seem too excited, we're not buying the car yet," Julia whispered.

"We're not?" Marta said with an inquiring tone.

"No, we need to let the salesman sweat a little. I'll show you how it's done."

"Okay," Marta said with a giggle.

The salesman looked at the two girls as they walked across the lot. "Well, what did you think?" he asked them.

Julia hummed. "Well, it's a great car, but this was the first dealership we've been to so we're gonna go check out a few others."

The salesman frowned. "I see. Well, just know we're the best dealership in town."

"Of that I have no doubt, sir. But we'll be back if the others turn out to be unsatisfactory."

Julia and Marta said their goodbyes and walked to Julia's car. "Why are we making him sweat?"

"Well, you heard the price of the one you want. This might help him swing the price down a little. You may be rich but you should still get a deal, Marta," Julia explained as they got into the car.

"Oh, I see. So where to next?"

"Well, we could go get food or we could go to a few other car lots and test drive some really cool cars," Julia said with a smirk. "Hell, if you wanted, I could help you get a vintage muscle car like this one."

Marta made a thinking face. "Hmm, naw. Something simple will do."

"You don't want to at least test drive a cool car? Come on, Marta. Live a little."

"I could always test drive your cars."

Julia cackled loudly. "Oh no no, nobody but me drives my babies. You know that."

"Oh come on, just one time!" Marta pleaded.

"Only in emergencies is anyone allowed to drive my cars. Except the CR-V, that one you can drive."

"Uh, that's such a boring car!"

Julia turned in her seat to give Marta a blank stare. "Marta. Do you have any idea what I have done to that car?"

Marta shook her head. "No. What have you done to it?"

Julia guffawed loudly. "I replaced the motor with a GSR turbo motor. I put on off road LT wheels with a push bar. I put in hyper LED lights. I put-"

Marta held her hand up. "Before you continue, let me just say that I have no idea what any of that means."

Julia cackled and started up her car. "I know. I'm sorry, but you called my car boring." Julia pulled out of the lot and onto the street. "Don't ever let Commander hear you say that she's boring."

Marta raised a brow. "Commander?"

"Yes. That's the name of my CR-V."

"You name your cars?!"

"Yes."

"What's this one named?"

Julia smirked. "This one is called Wrex. My Nova is called Dutch. My Firebird is Phoenix."

"I've known you for how long? How am I just finding out about this?"

"I dunno. We've never talked shop before." Julia stopped at some railroad tracks because a train was coming and she sighed. "You can turn on some music if you want."

Marta turned the radio on and "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees was playing.

"What kind of song is this?" Marta asked.

Julia stared at her in disbelief. "Are you shitting me, girl? This is "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees. How can you not know this song?"

Marta shrugged cluelessly. "I dunno, but I don't think I like it."

Julua gasped dramatically. "Bullshit! Come on, sing with me."

"No."

Julia started clapping her hands and bobbing her head left and right. "Come on, sing it, girl!"

"I don't know the lyrics."

Julia started singing off key.

_You know it's alright, it's okay_

_I'll live to see another day_

_We can try to understand_

_The New York Times' effect on man_

"Oh my god, Julia, stop!" Marta laughed.

"Nope!"

_Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother_

_You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'_

_And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' aliiiiiiiiiiiii-_

Suddenly something crashed into the back of Julia's car and both the girls shot forward.

"What the fuck?!" Julia shouted, looking behind her to see a black pickup truck. The truck backed up then rammed into them again. "That son of a bitch!"

Just when Julia was about to get out of the car to confront this person, the truck started pushing her car forward onto the train tracks just as a train was coming.

"Julia, what are they doing?!" Marta yelled.

Julia shifted the car into reverse and tried going backwards but the truck was a heavy all wheel drive whereas Julia's Charger was much lighter and rear wheel drive only. Her car was being pushed right onto the train tracks.

"Julia! The train!"

Julia looked out her side window, put the car into gear and drove forward just as the train came barreling down on them. But they made it to the other side unscathed. Well, almost unscathed. Julia knew the back of her car was probably a bit fucked up. As the train was rolling by, Julia put the car in park and got out of her vehicle to look behind her. The truck was still there.

"Hey! Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Julia shouted. "What the fuck is your problem?!"

Marta got out of the car. "Julia, let's go!"

"No! I want to know who this dumb fuck is!"

The train was still going by when the truck backed up, turned around and sped off with with a screeching of its tires.


	13. The Chase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm hoping this chapter is going to make things even more interesting. Thanks for the comments and kudos so far!

Julia scowled as she looked at the back of her car. The fender was dented, her lights were broken, and the damn trunk lock was smashed.

"God dammit!" Julia shouted. "That...that...uuuuuugh!" she growled, clenching her fists and stomping her feet.

Marta came to view the damage and she cringed. "Oh wow. That looks awful."

"No shit, Marta!"

Marta cringed again at Julia's outburst. "Um, I'm sorry but shouldn't we be focusing on the fact that someone just tried to _kill us?"_

Julia huffed and nodded. "I know, but...damn, my poor car! You know how much work I've put into Wrex?!"

Marta frowned at her. "Yes? Didn't you build it from the ground up?"

"Practically, yes!" Julia snapped, wanting to rip her hair out. She wasn't so much mad at her car being damaged, it was the manner in how it got damaged in the first place. And while Julia knew she should be petrified, her anger overwhelmed her fear. The train finally passed and Julia almost sank to her knees in frustration. "But...god, who was that asshole? And why were they trying to kill us?!"

"I don't know, but do you think it could be the same person who threw that brick at your window?"

Julia blanched at the suggestion. Just then they heard tires squealing and they looked back. It was the black pick up truck...and it was driving straight to them.

"Oh shit! Marta, get back in the car!" Julia shouted.

Both of them got in and buckled up before taking off down the road. Julia was practically flooring it, shifting gears while pressing the clutch with her foot. Her car was pretty fast, yet the truck was catching up.

Now she was _terrified._

"How the hell is he keeping up?" Julia asked. "Does he have a hemi under that hood or something?"

Marta was clinging onto her seat as the Charger went faster and faster. "Julia, aren't you worried about hitting something?"

Julia chuckled, doing her best to hold herself together and rolled her eyes. Now was not the time to be afraid. "Nope. Marta, I need you to GPS the police station." Suddenly Julia's phone started ringing and she answered it via a bluetooth that was hooked up in her car. "Hello?"

_"Hey, Julia, it's Benoit. How's the car shopping going?"_

"Detective, there is a god damn truck chasing us down and whoever is driving it just tried to fucking kill us by pushing us on the train tracks!"

 _"...What?_ _Where are you?"_

Julia looked around as the truck smashed into the back of her car and she jolted forward. "Fuck!"

_"Julia! Where are you?"_

"Bernadette Street and Forrester Avenue!" Marta shouted out.

Julia made a hard left and her tires shrieked from the turn. Luckily for her, she'd done a lot of upgrading on this car so the handling was a hell of a lot better than it was originally designed to be. And fortunately for them, the truck behind them did not have good handling. Julia felt as if the world was slowing down as she drove, her adrenaline rushing through her body to help keep her focused on the task at hand.

Julia looked in her rear view mirror as the truck nearly spun out of control. She laughed. "Haha! Sucker!"

_"Julia, what happened?"_

"Dude damn near spun out on the turn I just made!"

Julia made a hard right and the truck once again almost spun out.

_"Where are you at now?"_

"Forrester and Lakeview!" Marta blurted out. Suddenly the GPS chimed in.

_Turn left on Hugh Avenue._

"Julia, take a left up here!" Marta shouted.

Julia got to the stoplight and turned left, almost running into another car. "Shit!" Julia growled.

_"What happened?"_

"Almost hit a car," Julia explained. She looked at her rearview mirror and saw the truck was coming up fast. "Shit! He's gaining!"

Julia shifted gears to go faster. God, they were going to crash into something for sure.

_"Where are you at now?"_

"We're just a mile from the police station!" Marta exclaimed worriedly and the GPS spoke again.

_Turn right on Luke Street._

"Turn right up here on Luke Street!" Marta said.

"I heard the GPS lady, Marta!" Julia snarled as she made a hard right onto Luke Street...and slammed on the brakes.

There was traffic _everywhere_.

_"Okay, it should be a straight shot to the police station. Can you shake them?"_

Julia quickly put the car in reverse before clutching into first gear and turning left back on to Hugh Avenue.

"I gotta back track, Benoit! There's traffic on Luke!" The truck reappeared in her mirror and smashed into Julia's car again. "Fuck!"

_"Julia, I'm almost to the police station. Can you make it?"_

"Not at the moment!"

Julia was driving forward before making a right onto a different street. This time there was very little traffic.

_Head south on Bart Street for half a mile, then turn right onto Peach Avenue._

Julia was getting annoyed at the GPS lady but she kept going. She was swerving around cars and pedestrians, running red lights as the truck continued after them. This was positively nerve-wracking, and each time the truck hit her car it chipped away at Julia's bravery, inch by inch. But it also made her very, very angry. Julia concentrated on her rage to overcome her fear.

"What are you doing, Julia?!" Marta shrieked.

"What's it look like I'm doing?! Planning a fucking tea party?!"

_"Where are you guys now?"_

"On Bart Street!"

_"Bart Street and what?"_

"Herbert Avenue!" Marta said loudly.

_In a quarter of a mile, turn right onto Peach Avenue._

Julia began honking her horn at cars and people to get them out of the way. The truck hit them again and Julia snarled.

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch, I swear to God!" she yelled.

_"What's he doing?"_

"He keeps hitting my god damn car!"

Julia spotted Peach Avenue and turned right, damn near crashing into another car. She saw traffic up ahead but she turned left onto a different street to avoid it.

_In half a mile, turn right onto Hester Avenue._

"Marta, can you mute that thing or something?!" Julia snapped.

Marta did as she was told with a scared look on her face. "I'll just tell you where to go from here, okay?"

"Yeah, sure!"

_"I'm at the police station now. Julia, you still with me?"_

"Yes, dear!" Julia snarked. The truck smashed into them again and Julia narrowed her eyes. "If I ever find out who this son of a bitch is, I'll kill 'em!"

"Hester Avenue! Turn right!" Marta screamed. Julia swerved right and went barreling down the road. "The police station will be on the left on Luke Street!"

Julia drove faster as the police station popped into view once they got on Luke Street. Julia turned left, bypassed a gap in traffic, and drove right into the police station parking lot. She slammed on the brakes and the girls shot forward. Julia looked into her rearview mirror to see the truck driving away in a hurried fashion. She rested her head on the steering wheel and shut her eyes, feeling relief wash over her like a big giant wave.

"You okay, Marta?" Julia asked her friend, breathing heavily.

"I think I swallowed bees!" Marta said.

"Again?" she asked, looking at Marta.

Someone knocked on Julia's window and she jumped with a yelp, turning to see Benoit at her window. She unlocked the car and opened the door, unbuckling her seat belt and crawling out of the car into Benoit's arms.

He held her tightly in his arms and buried his face into her hair. "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding almost scared.

Julia was shaking in her shoes from the adrenaline rush. "No," she replied. "If I'd known I was gonna be chased down by some maniac, I would've worn brown pants."

Benoit laughed loudly and held her tighter. "It's alright, I got you. Marta, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Marta replied after getting out of the car. "That was absolutely crazy."

"That asshole hurt my car," Julia mumbled into Benoit's chest. "My poor car."

"Well, hopefully you have good insurance, yeah?" Marta asked.

"I do, but that's not the point."

"Detective Blanc, what happened?" a police officer asked as he was coming out of the station. "We've got reports coming in about a black Chevy truck chasin' down a Dodge Charger."

"My girlfriend was being chased and was almost killed by whoever was driving that truck. Did you girls happen to get a license plate number?" Benoit asked.

"No," Julia sniffled. "I was too busy trying to get away, I'm sorry."

Benoit kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, chickapin."

"Whatever happened, we can catch the license on the traffic cams, ma'am," the officer explained.

Julia was still trembling but she refused to cry. She was not going to cry. However, she buried her face further into Benoit's chest and breathed him in. His scent was starting to calm her down. She knew other people were talking but she ignored them. Right now, only Benoit Blanc was in her world. His scent, his strong arms, the texture of his suit on her face was all that mattered at the moment.

"...lia? Julia," Benoit said softly in her ear.

Julia looked up at him with a frown. "Yeah?"

"I think you should stay at my apartment until further notice."

"But why?"

"Because this may be the very person who put a brick through your window and I do not want you hurt."

Julia narrowed her eyes. "I'm not gonna let some maniac chase me out of my own damn home!"

Benoit cupped her face and stared down at her intensely. "Julia, listen to me. This has become a very serious situation. Your home may no longer be a safe haven for you. Until this crazed asshole is dealt with, you have to stay hidden somewhere and I would feel immensely better if you were with me."

Julia did not like being told what to do. She was an adult. She could do what she damn well pleased. She didn't have to take this kind of shit from anyone, especially her new boyfriend who seemed very overprotective of her. Why the hell did he care so much, anyway? How could he care so much with all this sudden drama in her life? This is the kind of crap that should make a man run off, but Benoit was doing the exact opposite. He was fighting tooth and nail to be by her side. It was ridiculous.

Julia suddenly shoved him, glaring at him. "I'm an adult, god dammit! Don't tell me what to do!"

Benoit looked taken aback, then he frowned. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do."

"You just said I have to stay hidden! I'm not hiding from anyone like some fucking princess locked up in a tower, Detective Blanc!"

Benoit frowned even more, remaining calm. "Julia, chickapin, I know you're on edge but please listen to reason, here. This thug is after you. This thug tried to kill you. Have you no sense of self-preservation? Or is it your pride that is blinding you from acknowledging the danger?"

Julia's mouth parted as her eyes widened. Well, this was new. She didn't know how to react to these two accusations. How was she supposed to respond to that? She was not used to fighting with someone who could remain so calm. This made the argument feel very...one sided.

"Julia," Benoit said as he grasped her shoulders. "Please, do this for me so I do not have to agonize over your safety."

"Why?" Julia barked. "Why do you care so god damn much about me? We've known each other but three days!" she said, emphasizing with three fingers held up.

Benoit merely put his hands in his pockets and kept his cool blue eyes on hers. "Would you prefer if I did not care?"

"What? I...no!" Julia said with a breathful shrill. "That's not what I'm trying to say!"

"Then what are you tryin' to say, my dear?"

"I'm just..." Julia frowned and covered her face. "Fuuuck!"

Julia was so wound up she couldn't find the words to try and explain what she was saying. It was like she had the sentences fully formed in her brain but they were going through a clogged filter before they could reach her mouth. But one emotion was strong enough to pop out and overwhelm her: fear. Fear of her feelings for him, fear of how he could possibly care about her, fear of the crazed maniac that was on the loose and wanted her dead, and fear of her past with Alice Heller. But why was she so afraid?

Julia sensed Benoit closing the gap between them, hearing the scuffle of his shoes on the pavement. Her hands lifted from her face and Benoit held them both, kissing each hand softly while staring down at her. Julia was surprised at how right it felt to have him touch her, and this fed her fear even more but she couldn't, for the life of her, pull herself away from him.

"Julia, talk to me. What are you tryin' to say?" he uttered in question.

Julia swallowed hard as she looked up at him. She wasn't about to admit her fears to him or anyone else in the vicinity, but she had to say something. "I...I just really hate what that bastard did to my car."

Benoit sighed, not looking exactly convinced but Julia knew he wasn't going to pry. At least not now. "I understand. Now, as for the living arrangements...we can discuss that later. Let's get Marta home, then we can-"

"But I was supposed to help Marta buy a new car today," Julia interrupted.

"We can do that another day," Marta said. "I can wait."

Julia turned to look at Marta. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I think we've had enough car chases for the past 24 hours, don't you?"

Julia burst out laughing and shook her head. "Yeah, I think so."

Some more cops swarmed around them to take their statements. Once that was done, all three were allowed to go. Julia dropped Marta off at her apartment then she followed Benoit back to his own. When they got in, the first thing Julia did was walk into the bedroom and flop down face first onto the bed. She growled into the pillow with frustration. Jesus Christ, what a day.

"Comfortable?" she heard Benoit ask from the door way.

Julia sat up and looked at him. "Not really, no."

Benoit walked over to Julia and sat down next to her. "Julia," he began. "What were you tryin' to say earlier?"

Julia couldn't look at him. "Do we have to talk about this now?"

"No, I suppose not. But...Julia..."

"What?" she asked quietly, still looking away from him.

"I-"

Suddenly her phone rang and she grabbed it from her back pocket. It was a number she didn't know. She answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

_"Hello, Julia."_

The familiar voice made her mouth drop and she turned to look at Benoit. "Charles?"

_"Yes."_

Benoit made a sour face and Julia turned away, getting off the bed and walking to the other side of the room. "How did you even get my number?"

_"I have my ways. Look, Julia, the cops called me this morning and it worried me, then I saw you trending all over YouTube. Are you okay?"_

"YouTube? Why am I on Youtube?"

_"You were getting chased in Wrex by some truck. Julia, what's going on? Is someone after you?"_

Julia faced Benoit who was now on his phone. "I'm fine. I'm under protection, currently. Charles, you really shouldn't-"

_"I know, I know, it's...it's bad of me to get a hold of you, but I was worried and wanted to make sure you were okay."_

Julia narrowed her eyes. Oh, the nerve of this prick. "Charles, my well being is no longer your concern. You have no right to call me! You have no right to any of my fucking business, do you understand me? Don't call me again!"

_"_ _Julia, wa-"_

Julia hung up the phone and growled in frustration. "Son of a bitch!" she yelled, tossing her phone on the bed.

Benoit frowned at her and showed Julia his phone. Sure enough, the car chase Julia was involved in was playing out right on his phone with the title, "Car Chase in South Boston". Julia threw up her hands when her phone rang again. This time it was her mother. She grabbed the phone and answered.

"Hi Mom."

_"Julia, honey, I just saw your car on the news. Is everything okay?"_

"Oh great, now I'm on the news?" Julia breathed out.

_"Yes. Who was that chasing you in the truck?"_

"I don't know but the police are looking into it."

_"...Is the detective looking into it too?"_

Julia's eyes glanced over to Benoit. "Yes."

_"Are you at home?"_

"No, I'm actually at his place right now. Look, Mom, I don't want you to panic, but someone was at my house last night."

_"What? Who?"_

Julia began pacing back and forth. "Probably the same asshole in the truck. They threw a brick through my window."

_"Oh my God. You didn't stay there, did you?"_

"No. I ended up spending the night at Benoit's apartment. And..." she looked at Benoit and frowned. "And it looks like I might be here for a while."

_"..."_

"Mom?"

_"..."_

"Mom. Why aren't you talking?"

_"Put the detective on the phone."_

Julia's mouth went agape. "Mother! I don't think-"

_"Put him on the phone!"_

Julia took a deep breath and held out her phone to Benoit. "My mother wants to speak to you."

Benoit nodded and grasped the phone from Julia, putting it up to his ear. "This is Detective Blanc. Hello, Mrs. Drysdale, how are you today?" Benoit paused. "Uh huh. Yes, ma'am." He looked at Julia with a grin. "Yes ma'am, I'm makin' sure of that."

Julia rolled her eyes and sat on the floor in front of Benoit. "What is she saying?" she whispered.

"No, ma'am. We do not know who this guy is but we do intend to find out who he is." Benoit crawled down to the floor in front of Julia. "No, ma'am." He grabbed Julia's hand and kissed it softly. "Yes ma'am. Alright, you have a pleasant day. Goodbye now."

Benoit hung up the phone and Julia blinked at him. "What did she want?"

"She just wanted to make sure I'm lookin' out for you, is all," he replied.

Julia's phone rang again and this time it was her father. She groaned and answered it. "Hi, Dad."

_"Hey, kiddo. How are you doing?"_

Julia sighed. "I take it you saw the news?"

_"Uh huh. Quite the car chase. You got mad skills."_

Julia laughed and nodded her head. "Yes, I suppose I do."

Benoit rotated Julia around and nestled her back against his chest, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. She practically melted into him.

_"So other than that, are you okay?"_

"Yeah, I'm okay."

_"How did the date go?"_

"It was fine...until Kelly Heller showed up."

_"You're kidding! What happened?"_

"Oh, she went after me in the bathroom but she was quickly escorted out of the restaurant along with her parents."

_"Good. You don't need to deal with any of that drama. So, where did the detective take you?"_

"Alfonso's."

_"Oooooh. He must really like you, then."_

"Yes, I believe he does," she said, looking up at Benoit with a grin.

_"Listen, I gotta go, kiddo, but I'm glad you're okay. But call me if you need anything, okay?"_

"I will, Dad. Love you."

_"Love you too, Julia. Bye."_

Julia hung up the phone and sighed. "So," Benoit said, "how did Charles get your number?"

"Said he had his ways," Julia said, scoffing. "Cocky bastard."

Benoit held her tighter as he watched the YouTube video of Julia driving through South Boston. "You must have been a professional driver in another life. How did you get so good?"

Julia chuckled. "You can't have muscle cars without taking them for a real spin, you know."

"I see." Benoit and Julia were still concentrating on the video but he tensed when the truck crashed into her car. "Well, that was not very nice."

"No, it wasn't."

Benoit turned the video off and sighed. "You know what?"

"What?" she asked, looking up at him.

"You deserve a nice, hot bath. With a bath bomb."

Julia grinned up at him. "You have bath bombs?"

"I bought some for you today."

Julia blinked in surprise. "You're too good to me, you know that?"

Benoit chortled lightly and kissed her softly. Julia immediately turned around in his arms, rested on her knees and deepened the kiss. Benoit took her in his arms and pulled her onto his lap. He moaned into her mouth and Julia whimpered.

"Mmm, the bath can wait," Benoit muttered.

"Uh huh," Julia replied.

Benoit and Julia situated themselves to get more comfortable on the floor, his back leaning against the bed. Hands traveled up Julia's back under her sweater and shirt, feeling the softness of her skin. Julia giggled against his lips.

"That kinda tickles," she whispered.

"Mmm, sorry," he mumbled, removing his hands.

"No, it's okay. I like it."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm."

Benoit's hands returned to her back and he scratched along her skin, causing goosebumps all over Julia's body. He kissed her hard once more and Julia wrapped her arms around him. Suddenly Benoit's phone started ringing and both of them sighed.

"Are you gonna get that?" Julia asked softly.

"Mmm, no. If it is important, they will keep callin'."

They continued kissing madly and soon Benoit's phone stopped ringing. However, it started up again and Benoit growled.

Julia chuckled softly, grasping his cheeks. "You better get that."

Benoit frowned, reaching into his pocket. "Fine, but after that's over, I'm kissin' you again."

Julia shrugged. "Fine by me."

Benoit pressed the accept button on his phone. "Detective Blanc."

Julia leaned in with a devilish smirk and kissed his neck, making Benoit shudder. "It's payback time."

"O-Oh, hello Lieutenant Elliot. How goes the investigation?"

Julia continued suckling on his neck and she could tell Benoit was suppressing making any suspicious noises.

"Yes, that did happen. They were...mmm, both a little shook up but they're okay."

Julia nipped his throat and Benoit hissed.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. Just, uh, stubbed my toe. Yes. Uh huh." Benoit suddenly tensed and sat up straight, almost knocking Julia off balance. "What?"

Julia sat up on Benoit, giving him a concerned look. "What's wrong?" she asked with worry in her voice.

Benoit shook his head at her, gently pushing her off him and standing up. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked, walking out of the bedroom.

Julia frowned as she watched him walk away. _"What the hell got him so riled up?"_ she thought to herself.

Julia's phone rang and she looked at it. Another number she didn't recognize. She answered it anyway.

_"You have a collect call from Suffolk County Jail, from...Ransom Drysdale. Will you accept the charges?"_

Julia frowned. She really did not want to talk to her brother but..."Yes, I will accept the charges."

 _"One moment, please."_ There was a ringing then a click. _"Julia, hi."_

Julia rolled her eyes and began pacing. "What is it, Ransom?"

_"Both Mom and Dad called me and told me what happened. Are you okay?"_

"What do you care?" Julia snarled, surprised that her parents were still wanting to talk to her brother after what he did.

_"You're my sister. Of course I care."_

Julia sighed, still walking back and forth. "Whatever."

_"Listen, I know you're mad at me but...I"m sorry I let you down, sis. Out of anyone in our family, I hate disappointing you and only you."_

Julia scoffed. "Then you shouldn't have done what you did."

_"...Anyway, are you okay?"_

Julia sighed. "Yes, I'm fine. With everything. I'm...holding myself together."

_"Good. So, I hear you're staying with the detective. How are things with that?"_

"Good. He's a good man."

_"Good, because I'd break out of jail and go after him otherwise."_

Julia actually laughed. "As if you could." She sighed. "You know Charles actually called me?"

_"How the hell did he get your number?"_

"Not a damn clue."

 _"You have two minutes left on the call_ _,"_ an automated voice said.

"What?"

_"Sorry, there's a time limit on calls here. So, what did Charles want?"_

"Just to make sure I was okay. The police talked to him this morning, questioning him about the brick through my window."

_"It wasn't Kelly?"_

"Oh, they brought her in for questioning...and for burning a bunch of my books, but she had an alibi for last night."

_"She burned a bunch of your books? Damn, that's harsh."_

"Meh," Julia shrugged. "Not the worst thing I've been through these days."

_"How's Wrex?"_

"He's gonna need some framework done on the back, probably a new fender and new lights, but other than that, I think he's okay."

_"Your insurance is gonna cover that, right?"_

"Probably, but you know how I am about my cars. I don't like other people working on them."

_"This is true."_

_"You have one minute left on your call."_

_"Look, Sis, I better get going but...don't be a stranger, alright? I'm already getting lonely in here."_

Julia smirked. "Don't drop the soap, baby brother."

_"Oh hardy har har, you're funny."_

"Bye, Ransom.'

_"Bye, Jules."_

Julia hung up the phone. Only Ransom ever called her Jules. She always wondered why that was. She turned towards the bedroom door and walked out to the hallway. Benoit was in the living room, standing with his fingers to his mouth. Was he biting his nails?

"Benoit?" she called out. He looked at her with wide eyes. He looked extremely worried. "Everything okay?"

"I'm fine. Listen, I need to go out for a bit," he said, grabbing his overcoat from his jacket stand. "I will return soon, okay?"

Before Julia could ask, he was out the front door.

 _"What the hell has him so riled up?"_ she wondered.


	14. The Book Signing

After calling the insurance people about her car and the window in her house (which took _forever)_ , Julia decided she would take that bath after all. She looked around the apartment for where Benoit's bath bombs could possibly be and she found them in a white cloth bag in the living room. She also found condoms and...some of her books, including "A Mirror's Reflection".

"Huh, well I'll be..." she said. "He's actually going to read it."

She picked out a purple, sparkly bath bomb that was wrapped up in a plastic covering. She went to the bathroom and started up the tub, filling it with warm water. Julia then unwrapped the bomb and smelled it. It was full of lavender and vanilla.

 _"Mmm, that smells good,_ _"_ she thought.

She tossed the bomb into the tub and watched it sizzle and bubble in the water. When it was done, she took off all her clothes, put her hair in a bun and stepped in, relaxing all the way into the tub.

"Ooooh yeeeaaahhh..." she mumbled.

The water felt _so good._ Julia raised her legs up, watching the water drip down to her thighs. She put her legs back in and arched her head back against the wall. She then rested her arms on the sides of the tub and practically melted into the water.

* * *

Julia was unsure how much time had passed but at some point she had fallen asleep in the tub. She was now cold.

_"Oh brrr!"_

Julia immediately got up out of the tub, grabbed a towel and started drying herself off. She unplugged the tub, grabbed her clothes and got out of the bathroom to walk to the bedroom. When she got in, she tossed her clothes on the bed and continued to dry herself off. When she was relatively dry, she put her panties and bra on.

"Julia?" Benoit called out. "I'm back!"

"Yeah, I'm in the bedroom!" she called back.

She heard a rustling in the kitchen then footsteps in the hallway when she grabbed her undershirt.

"Julia, I purchased...some..." Julia turned around to see Benoit staring at her from the doorway. "...Chinese food...wow."

Julia looked down at herself and laughed. "I should've shut the door, I'm sorry."

She looked up at Benoit whose eyes were dilated. "Julia, you...ahem, should get dressed."

"Yes, I should," she said with a seductive tone before swaying over to him. "But the way you're looking at me says I shouldn't."

She saw Benoit gulp when she closed the gap between them. His eyes were wide but still dark. "Julia..." he breathed.

"Yes?"

"Are you tryin' to drive me nuts?"

"Yes."

Benoit smirked before pulling her into his arms, grazing his lips against hers. "You little minx..." he whispered.

While Julia wanted to ask him about what happened earlier, she decided that was not as important as teasing and seducing the detective. She gave him a soft kiss.

"I'm gonna finish getting dressed," she whispered.

She pulled away but he yanked her back into his arms. "Not just yet," Benoit uttered, sniffing her neck. "Did you use a bath bomb?"

"Yes."

"You smell wonderful," he growled, giving her a hard kiss on the lips.

Julia flung her arms around him as he pressed her into the wall, his body pinned against hers. Benoit immediately took his suit jacket off and tossed it on the floor before undoing his tie.

"What are you doing?" she asked between kisses.

"I am highly overdressed," he mumbled, unbuttoning his shirt.

"But...mmm, what about not having sex until the fourth or fifth date?"

"Oh, we are not havin' sex, but I do not want to be constrained by my suit."

Soon his shirt was open and he hooked his arms around Julia. She placed her palms on his ass and squeezed, making him jump.

"Miss Drysdale!" he teased with a chuckle. "Control yourself."

Julia giggled. "I can't. Your ass is too perfect."

Benoit actually blushed at that and Julia thought it was cute. They went back to making out and soon they were on the bed with Benoit on top of Julia. They spent a good twenty minutes kissing until Benoit remembered the Chinese food. Julia got dressed back into her clothes and the two walked into the kitchen to reheat the Chinese food.

"Let me guess...you asked Marta about what kind of Chinese food I like?" she asked.

Benoit's cheeks turned red. "Yes."

Julia cackled and gave Benoit a kiss on the cheek. "You're very sweet and considerate. I lo...like that about you."

Benoit arched a brow. Julia gulped, hoping he wouldn't catch her slight slip up. Either he didn't or he decided not to press it.

"So," Benoit said, clapping his hands once, "shall we watch a movie and consider it our second date?"

Julia nodded. Once the food was reheated, they grabbed some plates and sorted out the food. They went to the couch, set their food down on the table and Julia went into the bedroom with Benoit to pick out a movie from the ones she brought from her house.

"Hmm, let's see," she said, browsing through her suitcase. "The Maltese Falcon, Gone With The Wind, His Girl Friday, Citizen Kane...oooh! How about Rear Window? You a Jimmy Stewart fan?" Julia asked, holding up the DVD.

Benoit smiled. "Whatever movie you wish. And yes, I am a Jimmy Stewart fan."

Julia zipped up her bag and waltzed into the living room with Benoit. He grabbed the movie from her and loaded it into his DVD player. They sat down on the couch and Benoit pressed play on his remote.

The credits rolled and soon there was a scene of an apartment complex and windows of tenants going about their everyday lives, then it showed Jimmy Stewart asleep in a wheelchair with a big white cast on his leg that had the words, "Here Lie The Broken Bones of J.B. Jefferies" written on it. The movie then showed part of his apartment which contained various photography cameras, random photos on the wall, and a negative of a woman from a magazine.

"This is such a good movie," Julia said, digging into her orange chicken.

"I know," Benoit replied, eating his white rice.

"I wish Jimmy was still alive."

"Me too."

In the movie, Jimmy's phone rang and he answered it.

_"Jefferies."_

_"Congratulations, Jeff."_

_"For what?"_

_"For getting rid of that cast."_

_"Who said I was getting rid of it?"_

_"This is Wednesday. Seven weeks from the day you broke your leg. Yes or no?"_

_"Gunnerson, how did you ever get to be such a big editor with such a small memory?_

* * *

The credits rolled and the music played once the movie was over and Julia stretched with her bones popping.

"Okay," she said. "What do you want to do now?"

Benoit shrugged. "I haven't the slightest, my dear."

"Well, I suppose I could work on my book while you," she said with a grin, poking his lower lip, "can get started on "A Mirror's Reflection" if you'd like."

Benoit scratched the back of his head and chuckled with embarassment. "You uh, heh, saw that, huh?"

"Don't by coy. You know damn well that I saw all the books and all the condoms. Which, by the way," she crossed her arms with a smirk, "are ya opening up a harem? Because you got a lot."

Benoit lifted his head back and laughed loudly, then he looked at her with a devilish grin. "No. I just feel that once we start engagin' in intercourse, we are goin' to need an abundance of protection."

Julia's jaw dropped. _"Oh Lord, I am in so much trouble. How much stamina does this guy have?"_

"I um..." Julia cleared her throat. "I'm gonna get started on my book now."

As she got off the couch, Benoit grabbed her hand. "Have I scared you?"

"No," she said, waving him off with her free hand. "I just didn't think...because of your age, I-I just assumed that-"

Benoit's face dropped. "You think I'm too old to have an insatiable appetite?"

Julia smiled, leaning down to kiss him. "No. I look forward to your insatiable appetite. I just hope you can keep up with me."

Benoit's eyes darkened before he pulled her down on top of him, making her squeal. "Oh, I think you should be more concerned about keepin' up with me."

Julia cupped his face and placed her lips on his, and before she knew it she was on her back and Benoit was on top of her, kissing her madly. Suddenly she remembered what she wanted to ask him.

"Mmm, Benoit?" she mumbled against his lips.

"Mmhmm?" he replied with a peck on her chin.

"Where did you go earlier? When Lieutenant Elliot called you?"

Benoit tensed and looked down at her. "It's not important."

Julia squinted her eyes. He was hiding something. "Um, well, if it has to do with my case, I would think it would be important."

Benoit frowned. "Chickapen, you have your secrets and I have mine."

That didn't sound reassuring at all.

Julia pushed him off and glared at him, sitting up. "Detective, if it has to do with my case, I deserve to know. This isn't like my secret, mine has nothing to do with you."

"So you admit that you have one," Benoit said with a hurt expression.

"Yes. Yes I do. But it's..." Julia sighed and lowered her head. "Look, if there is something going on with my case," she raised her head to look at him seriously, "then I need to know. Now spill it."

Benoit frowned deeper and got off the couch. "Julia, it is best that you do not know."

"Why is it for the best?" She got off the couch too and crossed her arms. "Tell me."

Benoit sighed, putting his hands on his hips. "Because I know who is after you and..." he sighed again, turning his back to her, "and he's after you because of me."

"Um, okay? Why is that?" When Benoit didn't answer, Julia jutted her lower jaw out. "I see."

She turned and went to put her shoes on. "Where are you goin'?"

"Out."

Benoit grabbed her arm. "Julia, please don't go."

She shook her arm out of his grasp. "Don't tell me what to do."

"I am not tellin' you what to do, darlin', I'm gently requestin' that you do not leave."

Julia slipped her shoes on and grabbed her red overcoat. "Well, request denied."

Benoit sighed. "His name is Peter Larson."

Julia paused in putting on her coat. "Okay? And why is he after me?"

"That...part I cannot tell you, but his name is Peter Larson."

Julia sighed and looked at him. "That's not good enough, Benoit. Give me more."

"I will if you tell me about Kelly Heller," he said, crossing his arms.

Julia's face turned deathly pale. "That has nothing to do with you."

"Well if you want to know my secret, tell me yours."

Julia covered her face and growled in frustration. "Those two things are not the same!"

Julia's phone started ringing and she sighed in frustration, looking around for it. Benoit found it and looked at the screen. "Who's Jessica?"

Julia grabbed the phone from him. "She's my literary agent." She pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

_"Julia, where the hell are you? You were supposed to be at Barnes and Noble twenty minutes ago!"_

Julia gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh shit! The book signing! I completely forgot!"

_"How could you forget?!"_

"I've had a rough day, Jessica. I'm sorry, I'll be on my way shortly."

_"Well hurry up! Your fans are getting impatient!"_

Julia hung up the phone and went running to the bedroom. Benoit followed her. "You have a book signing to go to?"

"Yeah. I'm promoting my latest book."

"Which one is that?"

Julia went digging around in her suitcase for her laptop. ""The Lights of Lorganya". It's one of my romance/fantasy novels."

"Oh." Julia grabbed her laptop and adapter then eyed her gun. She wondered if she should take it with her just in case this Peter guy showed up. "Well, just so you know, I do plan on comin' with."

Julia looked back at Benoit. "You don't have to come with, I can-"

"Julia, I am goin' with and you cannot prevent me from goin'."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Why do you care so much about my god damn safety?!" she shouted.

"Because you are important to me," he replied with a serious face. "Very important."

Julia closed her eyes and huffed. "But why?" she asked, standing up with her laptop and adapter in her arms. "What makes me so important to you?"

"Your kind heart, your beauty, your intelligence, and your strength." Benoit slowly made his way to her. "You wring your hands together when you're nervous, you write things down with your tongue sticking out the side of your mouth when you find inspiration, you bring me to sweet oblivion whenever you kiss me, your eyes become intense whenever you get angry...all of these things are some of the things that make you brilliant and attractive, Julia, and they make me adore you. And I cannot wait to find out more things that will make me..." He paused, looking as if he was finding the right words. "...adore you all the more."

Julia's mouth parted in shock. "...You adore me?"

Benoit cupped her face in his hands. "Yes. Now this may be premature of me to say, but Julia...you could very well be my donut hole."

Julia thought back to his theory about donuts and donut holes and she was immediately touched. It had been a silly thing, talking about the murder case in that way, but in the case of their hearts, it made perfect sense and she knew exactly what he meant.

When she looked into his eyes, she completely forgot what made her mad in the first place. Julia set her stuff down on the bed carefully before turning back to him, pulling him into a heated kiss. He groaned and lifted her up in his arms, both of them breathing from their noses while they locked lips. When Benoit let her down, her hands traveled up the sides of his neck and she bowed his head down so their foreheads could touch.

"That was the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me, Benoit," she uttered softly.

"Really?" Benoit said in a deep, baritone voice. "Hmm, then I shall endeavor to say much sweeter things to you."

Julia smiled up at him then pecked his nose. "We gotta get to my book signing...that's if you still wanna come along."

Benoit gave her a curt nod, rubbing his thumb along her cheek. "I'll drive."

* * *

It took twenty minutes or so to get to the book store on account of Benoit's place being a few towns away, but they managed to make decent time all things considered. Julia practically jumped out of the car with her laptop and adapter after Benoit parked. She ran towards Barnes and Noble with Benoit hot on her heels. When she got in, Jessica, a blonde haired green eyed woman with a pension for gray dress suits was waiting for her by the book signing table. Next to it was a cardboard cut out of Julia holding her newest book, "The Lights of Lorganya"." The line for the book signing was _long_ and some people looked pissed as hell.

"Where have you been?" Jessica hissed as Julia ran up to her.

"Sorry, I had...I've had things going on since last night," she replied quickly as she set up her laptop.

"Things like what? Like that car chase you were in this morning?"

Julia felt her cheeks go red. "You saw that, huh?"

Jessica giggled. "That car of yours is unmistakeable." She cleared her throat and turned to the people in line as Julia sat down, a pen in hand. "Ladies, gentlemen, thank you so much for waiting. We apologize for the delay, but Miss Drysdale is here now and she is ready to sign autographs."

Julia looked around for Benoit and found him in a seat not too far from her. He waved at her and wiggled his copy of "A Mirror's Reflection" at her before opening it. Julia smiled with a bite to her lower lip.

"Who's that?" Jessica asked Julia.

"Oh," Julia said as the first person in line came up to the table. "New boyfriend."

"Oh. Hubba hubba, girl," Hessica whispered.

Julia snorted and looked up at her first fan. "Hi there."

The woman looked absolutely ecstatic as she held a copy of the book "The Lights of Lorganya". "Hi. I'm such a huge fan of all your books," she said with a giggle.

Julia beamed proudly. "Well thank you, I'm so glad that you enjoy my books. What do you like most about them?" Julia asked.

The woman grinned and handed the book to Julia for signing. "I like how you develop each character. Their growth arcs are always amazing, like Hector in "The Deep Abyss of Space". _Loved_ that guy."

Julia signed her autograph inside the book and handed it back to the woman with a grin. "Yeah, he was a very good character to write. Tough to come up with, though." Jessica ahemed and Julia looked at her. "Right, well," she looked back at the woman, "it was nice chatting with you, um..."

"Oh. Stacy."

"Right. Stacy. Thanks for coming."

Stacy left and another woman came to the table with stars in her eyes.

The book signing was going quite well as Julia signed books and talked to her fans. She even took some selfies with people and she quite enjoyed those. As the line got shorter and shorter, Julia would occasionally glimpse over at Benoit who looked completely immersed in her book. That made her happy.

However, her happiness was short-lived when Julia saw Mr. and Mrs. Heller walk through the front doors. They immediately spotted Julia and headed straight towards her with angry expressions on their faces.

 _"Oh shit,"_ she thought. _"This is gonna suck so much."_

"Jessica," Julia whispered, "you need to get security now please."

"What? Why?" Jessica asked. Julia jerked her head towards the raging couple and Jessica spotted them. "Yep, I'm going now."

Jessica hurried away as the Hellers finally reached the table. Julia took a big breath and stood up. "Mr. Heller, Mrs. Heller. Can I help you with something?" she asked.

_"Keep calm. Do not let them make you cry, and for God's sake, do not lose your temper."_

Mrs. Heller pointed a finger at Julia. "You! You spoiled little tart! You don't deserve all this success! Not after what you did to our daughter!" she shouted.

Julia cringed internally but did her best to put on a brave face. "Mrs. Heller, I don't know how many times I can apologize to the both of you about that, but I-"

"You can take your apologies and shove them where the sun doesn't shine!" Mr. Heller barked.

Julia noticed people were gathering around and pulling out their phones to record the scene. _"Oh, great. Well, so much for my career."_

"You killed our daughter! How can you live with yourself?!" Mrs. Heller yelled. People gasped and muttered amongst themselves, then Mrs. Heller turned to the crowd. "You are all sheep! Being fans to a _murderer!_ Getting your precious little books signed by the very woman who killed my daughter!"

More gasps and uproars were heard and Julia closed her eyes, bowing her head. _"Don't lose your temper, don't lose your temper, do_ not _lose your temper!"_

"Excuse me!" Julia opened her eyes to see Benoit confronting the couple. "Just what is goin' on here? Why are you accusin' my girlfriend of murder?"

"Girlfriend?!" some of Julia's fans yelled in surprise.

Julia rubbed her face downward. _"Way to stay on topic, guys."_

"Because she is the reason our daughter Alice is dead!" Mr. Heller bellowed, turning is rage on Benoit. "I bet she didn't tell you any of that, did she?!"

Julia could feel her anger starting to poke through her calm exterior. _"Do not lose your temper, Julia. Just keep calm and...and...where the hell is Jessica with security?!"_

"You both need to leave! Right now!" Benoit bellowed loudly.

"We're not leaving and we'll never stop until this rotten little bitch is in jail!"

More phones were being held up now and Julia started to shake from her anger building up. She didn't know how much more she could take. Benoit and the Hellers kept arguing with each other, and the more they argued the more Julia's anger began to fester. Her breathing became ragged and her brows furrowed so that she was glaring at the Hellers. Everything from the past week and a half was finally catching up to her and suddenly, she slammed her fists on the table.

"Alright, that's _enough!"_ she screamed ferociously.

Benoit, the Hellers and the crowd all looked at her in shock. Julia kept her eyes on the Hellers as she tried to choose her next words carefully.

"Look! I have been through _hell_ this last week and a half! My grandfather committed suicide, my brother is in jail for murder, my best friend was almost killed, your daughter accosted me while I was on a date, someone threw a brick with a death note at my window in my home, your daughter burned a bunch of my books, and some maniac tried to kill me and chased me down this morning and wrecked my god damn car! Now you're here disrupting my book signing! Is all that bad karma not enough for you?! HUH?! I will regret what I did to Alice every day for the rest of my life, but I'll be god damned if I let it consume me like it has consumed you and your daughter!"

It was at that moment when Jessica showed up with security. Finally! Mrs. Heller inched closer to Julia and once again pointed at her.

"You will burn in hell for what you've done, Julia! Mark my word on that!" she shouted.

The security guards grabbed the Hellers and escorted them out of the building. Julia took some deep breaths and lowered her head, still leaning on the table. After a few moments of collecting what little sanity she had left at that point, she raised her head and looked at the crowd.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that little...altercation," she stated. "If you don't mind, I would like to continue with the book signing as scheduled."

Benoit went to her side and leaned to her ear. "Are you sure you don't need a little break?"

"Nope, I'm fine," Julia replied strictly. She sat down, brushed off her pants and laced her fingers together in her lap, looking up at her fans. "Alright, who's next?"

People lowered their phones and got back in line to have their books signed. Julia made her small talk short and to the point as she was not really in the mood to be super friendly but she still held her head up high and got through all the autographs without any more disturbances.

After everyone had their autographs, Julia moved to a sitting area in the back of the store where she was supposed to spend thirty minutes reading out loud from her latest novel. During all of that, she would occasionally glance at Benoit who had an expression she could not place. Something akin to pride, perhaps?

After the public reading was done, people clapped their hands to applaud her and then it was time for Julia to answer questions for fifteen minutes. Normally she looked forward to this part of a book signing but she was absolutely dreading the kinds of questions some people might ask about what had happened between her and the Hellers. At first, the questions were simple ones and were directly related to her books and characters. Then they got more complicated, people asking about the worlds in her books.

One man came up with a grin on his face, looking no older than twenty. He had red hair, freckles and a lanky body.

"Miss Drysdale, how much research do you put in when you're writing a novel?" he asked her.

"Oh, _tons._ I spend so much time researching little things here and there, and sometimes I have to research the most bizarre and mundane things that people don't usually look up. For example, for this book, I had to look up how long it takes for a body to decompose during the winter." The kid made a face and Julia chuckled. "I know, so gruesome, but I had to make sure Gretna's body decomposition was accurate."

The boy thanked Julia for her answer and sat down. The next person was a woman who was well into her twenties and had long, brown hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"Alright, this is the last question, make it count," Jessica announced.

The woman looked timid as she looked at Julia. "Miss Drysdale, your work has been an inspiration to so many people, especially in the local community. Your books are a sensation and you are, by far, my favorite author but I...well, I feel bad for asking about this, but what was...what happened earlier with those people?"

The crowd looked at Julia intently and she sighed, bowing her head before looking up again. "Well, I knew that was coming," Julia said. "Well, I have a long history with those people. I went to high school with their daughter Alice and, well..." Julia looked over at Benoit, then back at the woman, "she committed suicide, I'm afraid."

The woman tilted her head. "If she committed suicide, why do her parents blame you?"

Julia frowned, wringing her hands together suddenly as she looked at Benoit once more. "Well, that's a bit...um, complicated, you see...I-"

Jessica suddenly interrupted her. "Okay, I'm afraid that's all the time we have for questions. Thanks so much for coming!"

Julia sighed in relief and left the platform immediately, grabbing her laptop and adapter. Benoit was quick to help her get out of there before any of her fans could pry about that last question. Jessica walked with them both hurriedly.

"Well, that could've gone worse," Jessica said. "Still, I'm worried about what happened with the Hellers. That stunt they pulled could mean the end of your career."

"I know," Julia said with a frown. "What do you suggest?"

"Well, I can tell you right now that there's videos all over the internet now of that scene."

"Grrreeeaaat," Julia groaned.

The three made it to Benoit's car. "Don't worry. I can work damage control with this. In the meantime, you lie low for a while, work on your next book and relax, okay?"

"Okay."

Benoit opened Julia's car door for her and she got in. "And hey, don't let what the Hellers said get to you. They're just assholes."

Julia nodded with a sad grin and Benoit shut her door. Benoit and Jessica exchanged a few words before Jessica left and Benoit went to his side of the car. He got in, started the car up and looked at Julia.

"So...that was quite somethin'," Benoit said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Julia looked out her window, chuckling dryly. "Yeah."

He reached over and grabbed her hand tenderly. "Alcohol?"

"God yes!"


	15. The Phone Call

_"Julia, are you okay?"_

"Psh, I'm fine," Julia slurred to Marta over the phone, slumped over the table just a tad bit.

Benoit was watching in amusement, his chin in his palm and his elbow on the table as Julia proceeded to get herself drunk with shots of tequila.

_"Julia...are you drunk?"_

"Maybe just a bit," Julia giggled, pinching her fingers barely together.

_"Are you with the detective?"_

"Yes. He's gonna be my designated driver because apparently he doesn't want to get drunk with me."

Benoit cackled loudly. "Well one of us has to stay sober for the drive home, chickapen," he said with a shake of his head.

"We can always get an Uber or a Lyft," Julia mumbled.

_"I think it's best if Blanc stays sober, Julia."_

"Oh, fiddle sticks!"

Marta laughed on the other end. _"Let me talk to him."_

Julia raised a brow. "Uh...kaaayyy?" She handed the phone over to Benoit. "It's for yyyyooouuu..."

Benoit chuckled and grabbed the phone. "Hello, Marta. How are things?"

Julia turned towards the bar and waved for another round of shots. When she got her shots she slammed them down one by one. She made a sour face and twitched her whole body before sucking on a lime wedge. Now she was _really_ buzzed.

"Yes, she just consumed four more shots of tequila. I better cut her off," Benoit said on the phone. "Okay, Marta. Yes, bye." Benoit hung up the phone and set it down. "Julia, I think you have had enough to drink."

Julia shook her head and giggled. "But I'm not drunk yet."

"But you're close to it," Benoit said with a frown, gesturing to all ten shot glasses. "And you have consumed them in the time span of ten minutes, so I deduce that the alcohol will be hittin' you harder than a cow bein' tipped."

"Hey," Julia said, pointing at him. "I deserve to have my inhibitions lowered, dammit. I've had a very bad day and it's not even night time yet."

"I am aware of this."

"And it was your idea, anyway," Julia remarked as the waiter brought over a plate of buffalo wings and a glass of water. "Hey, I didn't order this."

"I did, it helps with the alcohol," Benoit said. "Forgive my lapse in good judgment, my dear. Had I known you were goin' to get this drunk, I would have merely bought alcohol from the liquor store and let you drink at my place," Benoit said with a wave of his hand towards her.

Julia started chowing down into a buffalo wing. "Oh, so good. Well, where's the fun in that? Hey, is this our third date now?"

Benoit smiled at her tenderly. "I am not sure this one counts."

Julia frowned, having buffalo sauce all over her mouth. "But we're getting close to that "fourth or fifth date" deadline of yours. How does that make you feel?"

"I am tinglin' with anticipation of it," Benoit teased with a playful grin.

Julia rolled her eyes and shooed him off. "Don't patronize me, Detective," she said before digging into more of her wing.

"I am most certainly not patronizin' you, chickapen," Benoit said as he leaned closer. "Now, within a few minutes you are gonna really feel the effects of that tequila, Miss Drysdale, so I suggest you drink some water and eat," he wiggled his finger at the plate, "more buffalo wings."

Julia giggled and took a long sip of water, then she dipped her wing in ranch and sucked it off along with some meat. "There, are you happy now?"

"Considerably so. Now," Benoit scoot closer to her in the booth and laid an arm on the seat behind her. "Not to put a damper on your good mood, but are you willin' to talk about what occurred at your book signin'?"

Julia took another wing and dipped in it bleu cheese. "I might be. Who the fuck knows?" She buried her teeth into the meat and closed her eyes as she yanked meat off the bone. "Wait a minute..." she said with a full mouth, looking at Benoit with a scrunched brow. "Is that why you suggested alcohol? So I would talk about Alice?"

"No, of course not," Benoit replied with a sour face. "I just want you to know that you can talk to me about anythin'."

"Oh yeah? Like you can talk to me about this...Peter Larson guy and why his intention to kill me is because of you?"

"Alright, fair enough. But you can still talk to me." He held up a palm. "I will not judge you."

Julia shook her head at him. "Nope. That secret is locked up tighter than a virgin's asshole."

Benoit wheezed out a laugh and hung his head, shaking it before looking at her with a smile. "You sure do make me laugh."

Julia kept eating her buffalo wings and occasionally had a bite of celery as well. Suddenly Julia felt different as if a wave of drunkenness hit her...which is exactly what happened.

"Uh oh," she said softly, her eyes going wide.

"What's wrong?" Benoit asked, looking worried.

"You were right," she said, her words a little more incomprehensible and jerking her head from side to side. "I'm definitely drunk now."

Benoit chuckled deeply and grabbed a buffalo wing after discarding his suit jacket on the back of his seat. "I did warn you, Julia."

Julia took a bite and chewed. "I know you did!" she spoke in outrage.

"Oh boy, you are a stubborn one, aren't you?" he asked, taking a nibble of his wing.

"Yes. Very."

"I like that very much."

Julia stopped eating to look at him. "Really?"

"Mmhmm," he said with a grin.

Julia's phone rang and she looked at it. "Oh, it's Lieutenant Elliot."

"Maybe you should let me answer that."

Julia moved the phone out of his reach. "Now now, Detective, I am perfectly capable of," she swallowed hard, "of answering my own phone."

Benoit chortled and sighed. "As I said, so stubborn. But you're gonna get sauce all over your phone."

Julia stuck her tongue out at him, grabbed a napkin, wiped her hands and pressed the call button. "Hello?"

_"Julia, it's Lieutenant Elliot."_

"Oh hiiiiiiii, Lieutenant. How are you?" she asked with a stretch.

_"Um, I'm fine, thank you. How are you?"_

"I am just," she slammed her elbow on the table, "...ow. Peachy, Elliot, juuust peachy!"

_"Well, I'm calling to let you know that your house is no longer a crime scene so you can go back any time."_

"Oh that's great, although I probably won't be back for a while," she said while the detective took a drink of water.

_"Oh? Why's that?"_

Julia rolled her head to look at Blanc with a disinterested expression. "Because my donut _insists_ I stay with him for the time being."

Benoit smiled at her and she blew him a kiss. This made him laugh.

_"Your donut?"_

"Yes, the detective is my donut and I am his donut hole."

_"...Are you drunk?"_

"Yessir, I most certainly am," Julia said with a giggle.

_"Is Benny with you?"_

"Yes, he is," she said, looking at her plate of food. "Do you want to speak to him?"

_"If you wouldn't mind."_

Julia waved the phone in front of Benoit's face. "Here."

Benoit took it as Julia started stuffing her face again. "Detective Blanc. Yes, hello Lieutenant. How goes it?" Benoit paused and looked at Julia who was nibbling on some celery. "Yes, she is. There was an...incident at her book signin' today. Kelly Heller's parents showed up and...well, I am certain you can find it on the internet. Plenty of people were recordin' it."

Just the mention of the Hellers put Julia in a bad mood and she frowned. She pushed her food away and rested her forehead on the table. "Now I'm just sad," she drawled.

Julia felt a hand on her back. "You not feelin' well, chickapen?"

Julia raised her head and looked at him. "I'm fine. Just sad."

"Elliot, we'll have to discuss this at a later time," Benoit said into the phone. "No, I'll call you when it is...appropriate. Uh huh, thank you. Bye bye now." He hung up the phone and handed it to Julia. "Why are you sad?"

"Because of...everything that's happened. Because of my book signing. I just want it all to go away," she groaned, snuggling into Benoit's arm. "Can you make this all go away?"

"Some of it, perhaps," he drawled, pulling her closer. He looked down and laughed as he grabbed a napkin. "You have sauce all over your mouth."

Julia got the napkin and wiped her mouth. "Did I get it all?"

"No, you missed a spot."

"Where?" Julia was about to wipe again when Benoit lifted her chin and kissed her, sucking her bottom lip softly. It sent tingles up her spine and straight to her groin.

"There," he said in a sultry tone.

"Mmm," she said, smiling up at him. "Get the check."

While Benoit was getting the check and a take home box, Julia's phone rang and she looked at it. It was her father so she answered it with a hello.

_"Julia? You're trending again."_

Julia laughed. "Let me guess. The book signing?"

_"Yep. You okay, kiddo?"_

"I suppose. The detective took me out drinking to drown my sorrows and woes."

_"Did he, now...no wonder you're slurring your words. Let me speak with him."_

Julia rolled her eyes and showed Benoit her phone. "You're very popular today."

Benoit chuckled and took the phone. "Detective Blanc." His eyes widened in surprise. "Mr. Drysdale." He looked at Julia with a raised brow. "Uh huh. Well, she was very distraught, Mr. Drysdale." Suddenly he laughed. "Well, I was not expectin' her to drink so much. Ten shots of tequila."

The waiter came and brought the check and a to go box. Julia clumsily put her food in the box and licked her fingers. She went back to paying attention to the conversation.

"Yes," Benoit said as he paid the check. "Mmhmm. Yes, I will make sure she sobers up. Yes. You have a good afternoon, Mr. Drysdale."

Benoit hung up and bowed his head. "Everyone is so concerned about you."

"I know, but I'm a big girl and can take care of myself."

"That you can."

Once the bill was paid, the two left the restaurant and got in the car. The drive back to Benoit's apartment was a short one and once they got in, the first thing Julia did was plop down on the couch in the fetal position with her laptop and adapter. Benoit's phone rang and he answered it with a smile as he looked at Julia.

"Detective Blanc." The smile suddenly faded from his face and his eyes narrowed. "Julia, I'll just be a minute."

Benoit walked down the hall to the bedroom after putting the wings on the kitchen counter and he shut the door. Now Julia was curious. She got up and tiptoed drunkenly down the hallway and pressed her ear to Benoit's door. A lot of his voice was muffled but she could make out some words.

"...my number? Why..."

Julia adjusted herself to get on her knees. What was going on in there?

"...cannot do this...girlfriend..."

 _"Is he talking about me?"_ Julia thought.

"...attacked her..."

_"He must be talking about me."_

"...stay away..."

_"Who is he talking to?"_

Julia heard footsteps and she quickly got up and stumbled towards the kitchen. She made it to the fridge and opened it, pretending to look for something to drink.

"Julia?"

Julia looked over to see Benoit by the doorframe. "Hi. Just looking for something to drink. I wanna finish my buffalo wings."

Benoit shrugged. "That's fine, have whatever you wish."

Julia noticed his whole demeanor was different. He looked tense. Very tense. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes."

Julia wasn't convinced so she shut the refrigerator, walked to him and pressed her lips to his softly, putting her hands on his shoulders and kneading them. "You seem very uptight right now."

Benoit's eyes fluttered. "I am."

She grabbed his hand and led him to the living room. "C'mon, I'll give you a massage."

"You don't have to, chickapen."

She sat on the couch and pointed in front of her legs. "I'm going to. Now sit."

Benoit smiled softly and sat down on the floor in front of her, his back to her. Julia placed her hands on his shoulders and started rubbing. He was as hard as a rock.

"Oof, I should call you Dwayne Johnson, your shoulders are so hard," she commented.

Benoit laughed as Julia kissed his cheek, still rubbing his shoulders. "Probably." He jerked his head about and groaned when Julia hit a particular knot in his shoulder. "Oh yeah, right there..."

Julia paid attention to that spot, kneading and massaging in circles. Soon Benoit felt like putty in her hands and she giggled drunkely. "That feeling better?"

"Mmhmm," he groaned. "This feels great."

She went to the back of his neck and began rubbing there as well. "Aww, your neck is so stiff, my little southern donut."

Benoit broke into laughter. "Your little southern donut, huh?"

"Yes," she cooed, leaning down and nibbling on his ear which made him growl. "So tasty."

He turned around and got on his knees before yanking her to him and kissed her. "You drive me insane."

"Good." He chortled into her neck and placed a soft kiss on it before wrapping his arms around her and biting her. "Oooh, you bad boy..."

"Uh huh," he groaned before exposing her shoulder and biting it. "Take your sweater off."

Julia giggled and slipped off her sweater to reveal her undershirt, but Benoit growled, lifted the shirt up and started kissing her chest plate. She was surprised at his sudden sensual behavior but she wasn't complaining. She took her shirt off and he started removing his own clothes until his upper body was naked. Julia pulled back to get a good look at him and she gaped at him. He was well built, he had a subtle six pack and he had a V! Oh joy! She looked into his eyes and noticed how dilated they were, signifying his lust.

"Julia, I do not want to take advantage because you are inebriated, but...would you consent to removin' your bra?" he asked sheepishly.

She had no issues with that, so she reached behind her and unclipped her bra. It loosened around her chest and she held her bra on with her arms, looking at him. "Are you sure?" she inquired softly.

When he nodded, she slowly took the bra off, exposing her C cup sized breasts, and tossed the bra to the side. Benoit looked down and his breath hitched. He hesitated for a moment or two before lifting his hand and cupping one of her breasts, looking back into her eyes. Julia bit her lower lip and smiled at him.

"Do I have permission to-"

"You have permission to do whatever you want," Julia interrupted with a smirk.

Benoit smiled and leaned his head down to kiss the top of her boob. It made Julia breathe heavily as his lips trailed down to her nipple. When he took it into his mouth, she gasped and arched her head back. His tongue flicked against the nub and his hand reached for her other breast, running his thumb along her nipple.

"Oh Benoit..." she moaned.

He let out a low growl and pushed her down on the couch before crawling on top of her, settling himself between her legs. He went back to teasing and licking her nipples and Julia called out his name once more. He grinded into her and Julia moaned out with a gasp.

"Don't stop doing that," she whimpered.

Benoit did it again and Julia once again moaned. He did it over and over again and Julia eventually wrapped her legs around his waist. As he continued to dry hump her, Julia felt herself getting wet from being so aroused. She grabbed Benoit's head and pulled it up to kiss him desperately.

"Julia," he whispered on her mouth.

"Mmhmm?" she asked.

"I really, mmm, shouldn't be, mmm, doin' this," he said, still grinding his hips into her.

"Mmm, why not?"

"Because I'm so, mmmmm, so close, mmm, to rippin' all your, mmm, clothes off."

"Then, mmm, do it."

Benoit stopped grinding on her and lifted his head, looking down at her. "If I do that, then we are gonna have sex."

Julia giggled and nipped his throat, making him growl. "And that's a bad thing?"

"For now, yes. We have not had our fourth date yet."

"Why," she began, licking his adam's apple, "is this rule so important?"

"It is just a personal rule not to, you know, put out right away."

Julia giggled and rested her arms on his shoulders. "Am I not the exception to this rule?"

Benoit stared down at her chest and jerked his head before looking back at her face. "Julia, you are such a beautiful woman and I adore you to pieces, but even if I allowed an exception, it would not be tonight."

Julia frowned up at him, genuinely hurt. "Why not?"

"Because you are drunk."

"But I want this. I'd want this even if I wasn't drunk. Benoit," she said, caressing his face while staring at him with sad, pleading eyes. "I want you."

Benoit's eyes softened as he looked at her. "I know, chickapen, I know. And I want you. Badly. But," he leaned down to peck her lips, "all good things," he pecked her again, "to those," he kissed her once more, "who wait."

"Argh! You are _such_ a fucking tease!"

He laughed into her neck, his body jerking from the action. "You do your fair share of teasin', though."

"I do," she said, taking her fingers and brushing them over one of his nipples. He immediately stiffened and groaned. "Ooooh, somebody is sensitive there..."

"I am goin' to regret bein' shirtless, aren't I?" he whispered. Julia suddenly rolled him off the couch and he landed with a thump onto the floor. "Ow! Hey!"

Julia got on top of him, a devious smile on her face as she stared down at him with hooded eyes. "Yes. You are going to regret it, because," she leaned down and kissed his chest, "two can play at this," she ran her hands down his arms and kissed his skin again, "game."

She sat up for a moment to let her hair down, then she grabbed his wrists and quickly pinned them above his head. Julia then flicked her tongue on one of his nipples, making Benoit hiss in delight.

As much as Julia wanted to jump his bones right then and there, she was finding it pleasurable to seek all his sensitive areas, find his limits of pain and make sure Benoit was not staying quiet throughout her exploration of his body. His nipples were particularly sensitive, there was one spot behind his ear that, when kissed or breathed on, she was sure made his toes curl, and touching his stomach and his "V" made his erection stronger than an oak tree.

"You are goin' to be the death of me, Julia," he breathed as she took a finger and pulled his pants down ever so slightly to kiss further down his abdomen.

"I'm counting on it," she whispered seductively. "I'm going to make you regret making me wait."

"Shit," Benoit said with a laugh. "You are a little sadist, aren't you?"

Julia suddenly dragged her nails down his chest to his stomach and he flinched heavily.

"Yes," she said as she sat on top of him, feeling his erection underneath her. "You're really hard."

"You make me that way." Julia giggled and wiggled her hips to rub against him. This caused Benoit to buck his hips up. "Oh for chrissakes!" he yelled in what sounded like blissful agony.

Julia was _really_ enjoying this. "If I keep doing that, are you going to cum in your pants?"

Benoit nodded vigorously. "Yes."

"Should I stop?"

"No."

Julia laughed. "Isn't sexual release a big no no until our fourth or fifth date?" she asked, grinding herself on him.

Benoit grinned up at her. "I said no such thing about sexual release."

"Hmm," Julia said, tapping a finger on her chin and giving him a teasing look. "I think I'll make you wait for that too."

He groaned and chuckled. "You are an evil temptress." He suddenly sat up and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her softly. "I love it."

Julia giggled and ran a hand through his hair. "Good. Because there's plenty more where that came from."

Benoit smirked and pushed her on the couch. "Now it's my turn."

The things that he did to Julia next were sensational. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes, she felt warm and tingly from his lips and hands all over her body. By the time he was done with her, which was a long time to the point that she was now barely drunk, Julia was a hot mess, breathing heavily and limp on the couch.

"Woa," she said when he had finished teasing her. "You...woa..."

Benoit laughed as he put his shirt on. "Yes. Woa."

Julia sat up after a few moments, her body still dealing with the aftermath of his kisses and scratches and bites and other things he had done to her. And he didn't even touch her womanhood. She reached for her bra and put it on then she grabbed her shirt.

"So what would you like to do now, chickapen?" he asked her.

"Well, I really should work on my book," she replied thoughtfully.

"And I," he said, leaning down and kissing her, "should get to reading more of "A Mirror's Reflection". You, my dear, are a fantastic writer."

Julia blushed as she grabbed her laptop. "Oh stop it."

"Do not be modest, Miss Drysdale. You write beautifully."

She smiled up at him and sighed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now," he said, walking into the kitchen, "shall I reheat your buffalo wings for you?"

* * *

Julia spent a few hours on her laptop writing and editing, but then she had a case of writer's block and she growled in frustration. Usually when that happened, she'd go out to gain some perspective, but she wasn't allowed to go anywhere, not with her life being threatened.

"Somethin' wrong, chickapen?" Benoit asked from his recliner with "A Mirror's Reflection" in his hand.

"I'm blocked right now and I can't do a damn thing about it."

Benoit chuckled lightly and stood up, walking over to the couch to have a peek. "Well, how is it comin' so far?"

Julia shut her laptop quickly and waved a finger at him. "No, you don't get to see."

He pouted at her. "Why not?"

"Because you are now a fan and I can't let you have sneak peeks."

"But I'm your boyfriend. Do I not have special privileges?"

"Not that kind, no."

"Oh..."

Julia grinned up at him. "Oh, don't act like that," she said, pulling at his tie to make him come down to her mouth. "You have plenty of special privileges, my handsome donut."

Benoit laughed loudly before kissing her tenderly. "Oh I do, hmm?"

"Yes."

He kissed her again. "That's what I like to hear."

Benoit's phone rang and Julia let go of his tie so he could stand up. He grabbed his phone and answered it.

"Detective Blanc," he said. Julia saw his face blanche and he put his hand over the receiver. "Excuse me, chickapen."

He walked towards the hallway and Julia heard his bedroom door open and shut. She sighed and got up. Now that she wasn't drunk, she wasn't as curious as before...but she was still a little curious. Who was he talking to that was making him react so much? She went towards the bedroom but she could hear yelling so she stopped.

"...need to stop this...Emily..."

 _"Who's Emily?"_ she thought.

"...almost killed her..."

_"Yeah, this is definitely about me."_

More muffled yelling was heard so she got closer.

"...insane...do not call me again!"

Suddenly the bedroom door opened and Benoit came out. He looked furious. His eyes widened when he saw Julia.

"Julia, what were you doin' just now?" he asked.

"I heard yelling. Benoit, what is going on?" she inquired.

"Nothin' important," he replied.

Julia knew he was lying. She _hated_ being lied to. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "It has something to do with me, doesn't it?"

Benoit sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It is best if you do not know, Julia."

She scoffed. "Why don't I get to decide what's best for me?"

"Julia, please-"

"No!" she interrupted angrily. "Don't you "Julia, please" me, god dammit! I want to know what's going on!"

"I cannot say!" he shouted.

"Cannot or will not?!"

"Julia, you need to trust me on this!"

"I'm not trusting a fucking thing you say right now!" she shouted, putting her arms at her sides and clenching her hands tight. "Who is Emily?"

Benoit's face turned white and he took a step forward. "How much did you hear?"

"I heard enough to know that phone call was about me. Was it Peter who just called you?"

"No."

"Then who was it?!" Benoit's lips puckered in and Julia looked at the floor. "Fine. Don't tell me."

Julia brushed past him to the bedroom. "Where are you goin'?" he asked.

"I'm going to bed," she barked before walking in and slamming the door shut.


	16. Benoit's Motor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I know this chapter is a bit longer than normal but I couldn't really help it. Also, I know a part of this chapter is a bit...much, but I felt it was needed. Now, without further adieu, here is chapter 16.
> 
> This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

Julia woke up late the next morning on account of not being able to sleep very well the night before. Her brain not shutting off about Benoit keeping something from her was the culprit.

 _"Well, I'm keeping something from him too,"_ she thought as she was still laying in the bed. _"But that's different. My secret has nothing to do with him."_

Julia sniffed a few times. Oh God, Benoit made breakfast again. Her mouth was watering but she was still mad and she didn't know how she was going to handle staying with Benoit while she was angry at him.

_"Maybe I should just go home, or maybe I should go to Marta's. Or Granddad's...well, that house belongs to Marta now. I could ask her if I can stay there."_

Julia looked at the nightstand when she noticed a rose in a little vase. There was a note next to it and she snatched it up to read it.

_Julia,_

_My chickapen, my donut hole, beautiful girlfriend of mine, stay in bed. I have a surprise for you._

_Yours,_

_Benoit_

Julia clutched the note to her chest and shut her eyes. _"_ _Oh, the feels...no. No. I need to stay mad at him."_

Julia cleared her throat and got up to get dressed. She changed from her PJs to a dark green turtleneck and black jeggings. She started packing up her dirty clothes into her suitcase when she heard a knock on the door.

"Julia? I made breakfast for you..." she heard Benoit say.

"I'm not hungry!" she belted out.

"...Chickapen, I know you are hungry. I can hear your stomach growlin' from a mile away."

Julia's stomach was, in fact, growling. She grumbled and stood up, walking to the door and opening it. "Detective Blanc, I..."

Julia paused when she saw the tray of food in Benoit's hands. Waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and fresh squeezed orange juice. "I was plannin' on you havin' breakfast in bed, but I see that you are already out of bed."

Julia sighed and crossed her arms. "I said I'm not hungry."

The look of defeat on Benoit's face nearly broke Julia's heart. She knew he'd put a lot a time and effort in making her breakfast. Was she being unreasonable? Maybe it was best if she didn't know who was after her. What reason did she have not to trust the detective? None. If he thought it was for the best, maybe she should listen to him.

"Benoit, may I ask you something?"

"Yes," he said, the deep set frown still on his face.

"Why won't you tell me about the phone call or who Emily is or why Peter Larson is after me?" she asked in a gentle tone.

Benoit lowered his gaze to the food, then looked at Julia with a sad face. "Because I do not want to scare you off."

_"Okay, this is just giving me more questions."_

"What could possibly scare me off?"

Benoit looked down at the food. "Can we just concur that we both have secrets?"

Julia brushed her fingers across her forehead before pinching the bridge of her nose. "There's a difference, Benoit. My secret has nothing to do with you."

"But it affects our relationship."

"Then maybe we shouldn't have one," she growled.

Julia's eyes went wide and Benoit suddenly looked like a puppy who'd just been kicked. _"God, why did I say that?"_

"...Is that what you want, Julia? To end our relationship?"

Julia shook her head. "No, no...I didn't mean that, I'm sorry." She scrunched up her face and put a hand to her forehead, shutting her eyes tightly. "How does it affect our relationship?" she asked, opening her eyes to look at him.

Benoit took a deep breath, set the tray down and looked Julia dead in the eye. "Kelly nearly assaulted you in the restaurant on our date and her parents harassed you at your book signin'. Do you not know how worried I was for you both times? They had to stop me from goin' into the damn bathroom at Alfonso's and that..." he threw up his hands, "nincompoop Mr. Heller was a hair's breath away from havin' his ass handed to him by me."

Julia began to giggle. "Nincompoop?"

Benoit smiled at her and tucked his hands into his pants. "Yes. He is a nincompoop, and so is his wife. And I take offense to what all of them did to you."

Julia shrugged her shoulders. "Why?"

"Because you are my girlfriend and I care for you and for your well being," he stated matter-of-factly.

Julia made an "aww" face for a moment before clearing her throat. _"Keep on task, Julia."_

"Okay, fine. Each secret affects us both. But you can't expect me to go along with being in the dark when my life is in danger," Julia said. "It's just not fair."

Benoit nodded. "You are correct, it is not. But," he scratched the back of his head nervously, "I still have qualms about you knowin' because I fear that you will run away once you find out about it all."

Julia huffed and stared at him. "What was it you told me yesterday morning?"

"About what?"

"You won't judge me and you won't leave me when I'm able to tell you about Alice."

"Oh, that," he said, chuckling. "What about it?"

Julia bypassed the food and embraced Benoit in a kiss, grasping his face. "I won't judge and I won't run away. I promise."

He wrapped an arm around her and smiled as he cupped her cheek. "Do you truly mean that?"

"Yes. My word is my bond."

"...Do you think you can wait for me to tell you? Because I am still not ready to do so," he said with a frown.

Julia huffed and jutted her jaw to the side, looking at Benoit with mild annoyance. "Fine, but if you take too long I'll smack you silly."

He leaned his head back and laughed before kissing her softly. "You are so wonderful."

"Oh stop," she said, shooing her hand at him.

"No. I refuse to stop," he whispered as he pulled her close and pressed his lips to her ear. "You are wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, kind..."

Julia chuckled breathlessly and arched her head back. "Oh Benoit, how did I get so lucky to find you?"

"I'm the lucky one. Now," he said, kissing her neck and pulling back, "you should eat before it gets too cold, Miss Drysdale."

Julia pouted as Benoit picked up the tray. "Okay," she said. Benoit brought the tray to the kitchen table and Julia began chowing down. "What about you? Why aren't you eating?" she asked with a mouthful of sausage.

"I already ate," he said while watching her intently from the other side of the table.

"One of these mornings, I'm going to make you breakfast."

Benoit smiled. "I'd like that very much."

"How do you like your eggs?"

"Over easy."

"Bacon or sausage?"

"Bacon."

"Waffles?"

Benoit chuckled. "Pancakes."

"Milk, juice or coffee?"

"Coffee, but milk on occasion."

"Toast?"

"Yes."

Julia finished her food and got up. "I need to write all that down,' she proclaimed before walking to the coat rack and pulling out her notepad.

Julia heard dishes clinking together and a faucet running. "Is that inspiration for your book or are you just that interested in my breakfast preferences?" he called out.

"Both!" Julia heard laughter from the kitchen and she sat down on the couch before opening her laptop. "Do you mind if I turn on the tv while I do some writing?"

"Not at all, my dear."

More dishes were heard clinking in the kitchen while Julia grabbed the remote to turn on the news. The news was usually a good background for her to write.

_"The first line of defense in Afghanistan was broken today as..."_

Julia let her focus slip to her computer as she tried to figure out what to write. "Hmm, maybe I'll just skip ahead to a few scenes since I know what I want to happen later," she said to herself.

_"...in other news, local author Julia Drysdale was harassed by two people in a Barnes and Noble yesterday during..."_

Julia perked her head up and looked at the tv. There was a video of the Hellers yelling and screaming at her while the anchor spoke about the incident. She held her head in her hands and shook it.

"Jesus Christ..." she muttered.

Julia felt hands on her shoulders. "Sometimes it is hard bein' famous, is it not?"

_"...when asked about the specifics of the incident, the two offenders, known as Mr. John Heller and Mrs. Laura Heller stated that, and I quote, "Julia Drysdale was responsible for the suicide of our daughter Alice Heller. We seek justice against the crime committed and the fact that Julia is not in jail for what she has done sickens us to the core," unquote."_

Julia closed her eyes tightly and bowed her head.

_"Julia Drysdale was also seen being chased in her car by a black pick up truck in South Boston early yesterday morning. No one seems to have information as to why Miss Drysdale was being chased, but when we asked the Hellers about it, they said, and I quote, "Good. We hope the 'bleep' gets what she deserves, and she deserves a lot worse than a broken fender," unquote."_

Benoit sighed and started rubbing her shoulders. "Those people are relentless, aren't they..." he said.

"Yes. Which is...well, I can't say that I blame them," Julia spoke sadly, holding her head with her hands.

"You can't blame them?" Benoit said. "Julia, I do not think what they have done to you has any merit. Especially over somethin' that happened so long ago."

All of a sudden, Julia sprung up and turned to face him. "How would you know? You don't know what I did!" she yelled.

Benoit's eyes widened and he held up his hands. "I'm sorry, chickapen. I did not mean to upset you."

Julia sighed and covered her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Julia's phone started ringing and she grabbed it from her pocket just as Benoit came around the couch, grabbed the remote and turned off the tv. She looked at her phone, seeing Jessica's name on the screen so she answered it.

"Hi, Jessica," Julia said.

_"Hi. Listen, did you see the news at all today?"_

"Yes, I did. Why?"

_"Well, the reporters are gonna be hungry for your side of the story, Julia. You know this."_

Julia frowned and rubbed the back of her neck. "I know they are. What do you suggest?"

_"We write up a statement saying you were not responsible for the death of Alice Heller. You denounce the Heller's crazy claims of-"_

"But in the video, I basically proved what they said was true, Jessica. I can't just go back on that."

There was a sigh on the other end. _"Alright, what do you suggest?"_

"That I say nothing. I have no comment on the matter."

_"Julia, I don't think-"_

"What happened with Alice is not anyone's business except mine and the Heller's. If they decide to talk about what I did, then I'll make a comment. Not before."

_"...Alright. You're the boss. I'll do my best to deal with this for the time being."_

Julia sighed in relief and bent her head back as Benoit held her from behind. "Thanks, Jessica. Anything else?"

_"Well, so far your net worth has dipped down a little but your popularity has increased."_

Julia blew a raspberry. "Is the popularity increase a good thing or a bad thing?"

_"Any popularity is a good thing."_

"Okay." Benoit brushed Julia's hair to the side and kissed her neck so she rubbed his arm. "Thanks, Jessica. What would I do without you?"

_"You'd die without me."_

Julia laughed and nodded. "I sure would. I'll talk to you later."

_"Bye bye, and say hi to your hunky boyfriend for me."_

Julia laughed again as Jessica hung up the phone. "Jessica says hi to my hunky boyfriend."

"Mmm, really? Who's that?" Benoit joked.

Julia giggled and smacked his arm. "Shut up, you know it's you."

Benoit turned her around and kissed her softly. "Did you just tell me to shut up?"

Julia smiled against his lips. "Maybe. What are you gonna do about it?"

Benoit smirked at her deviously. "I could spank you, but I do not strike ladies."

"Not even if they give you permission?"

Benoit stroked her hair and then his hands went sliding down her back to her rump. "I might be persuaded if that were the case."

Julia licked his lips, making him shiver. "Do it."

Benoit laughed and squeezed her butt. "I am goin' to need more convincin' than that, chickapen."

She smirked, took her hand and smacked his ass which made him jump and chuckle deeply. "How's that?" Julia asked.

Benoit slapped both her cheeks lightly and she giggled loudly. "Oh, you can do better than that," she teased.

Benoit let out another deep chuckle and slapped her rear end harder than before, making her gasp and smile. "Better?"

"Ooooh, you bad boy," she said before kissing him deeply.

Benoit laughed into her mouth and hoisted her up by her ass so Julia hooked her arms and legs around him. "Bedroom?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said with an enthusiastic nod before kissing him again.

Benoit walked out of the living room to the hallway then to the bedroom with Julia in his arms, giving her little pecks here and there along the way as he shut the bedroom door.

* * *

Over the next few days, Julia remained cooped up in Benoit's apartment and nothing surprising happened. Her story was still on the news maybe once or twice before it finally died down. She'd gotten a fair amount of writing done and before she knew it, she was halfway done with her new book that she hadn't found a title for yet. Julia had received calls from Jessica, Marta, her father and her mother to check in on her to which she said was fine.

However, when Julia got news that her mother wanted a divorce from her father, she was devastated, so she called her mother to try and talk her out of it as she paced back and forth in the living room.

"Mom, you can't be serious!" Julia almost shouted over the phone.

 _"I am serious. I'm going to go see a divorce lawyer on Monday_ _,"_ Mrs. Drysdale said on her end.

"But Mom, you-"

_"Hey, you went through the same thing with Charles so you of all people should know what I'm going through."_

Julia sighed, brushing a hand through her hair. Her mother had a point. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just...with everything that's been going on, the last thing I want to...handle is you two splitting up, but that's just selfish of me and I'm sorry...but have you two considered marriage counseling?"

 _"No, because that worked_ soooo _well for you and Charles."_

A frown spread on Julia's face. "I know it didn't, but I tried because I loved him. Don't you still love Dad?"

_"...Of course I do."_

"Then just...think about it, okay? Please?"

The was a sigh on the other end. _"Alright, I'll think about it."_

It was at that moment that Julia heard the front door open and she turned to see Benoit coming in with groceries. "Alright, thank you, Mother."

_"I need to go, but try not to get into any more trouble, okay?"_

Julia chuckled a little. "I've been lying low these past few days so I'd say I'm pretty good on that front."

_"Okay, sweetie. Love you."_

"Love you too, Mom. Bye."

Julia hung up the phone, pocketed it and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "God dammit," she grumbled.

Benoit poked his head out from the kitchen. "What's wrong?" he asked Julia.

"My mom wants a divorce. I just tried talking her into doing marriage counseling and she said she'd consider it, but I'm pretty sure her mind is made up."

"Oh, I'm sorry, chickapen," Benoit said with a frown.

Julia nodded at him as she walked into the kitchen. "I'll live. So, what did you get?"

"Oh, just some essentials. I thought we could have a movie night so I got popcorn."

Julia groaned. "Another movie night? We've had movie nights for four days in a row. I wanna do something else."

"Like what?" Benoit asked as he put some milk in the fridge.

"I dunno...can we go out? I've been stuck here for _days_ and I'm going stir crazy!"

Benoit sighed as he grabbed more food from the paper bags. "Julia, we have been over this. Until Peter Larson is taken into custody, it is not safe for you to go outside."

Julia grumbled. "As I've said before, I'll say it again...I am not going to be a princess locked up in a tower! I've indulged you for long enough, Detective. Please let me go out. Please?" she begged.

Benoit turned to her as she gave him puppy dog eyes and a pout which made him laugh. "Oh, alright, alright, but I am coming with and if something feels off, we come back here immediately. Understand?"

Julia grinned and kissed him softly. "Thank you. Now, what should we go do? Let's go do something fun like...like miniature golf or pool."

"Hmm, both of those activities sound suitable for a third date."

Julia squinted her eyes at him. "Fourth date."

Benoit laughed as he put more food away. "Gettin' you drunk and buffalo wings did not count as a third date. I was merely tryin' to help make you feel better after the heinous day you had."

She tossed her head back and crinkled up her hands in frustration. "You're killin' me, Smalls."

Benoit laughed again. "Why am I killin' you?"

As she looked at him, she frowned. "Because I want to fuck you."

His eyes went wide as his jaw dropped and his cheeks burned red. "Julia!" he guffawed.

"What? It's true."

"Yes, but..." he sighed as he put some butter away in the fridge. "Must you be so vulgar?"

"Yes. I'm sexually frustrated and it's unsatisfactory that you're making me wait," she said with irritation in her voice. "It makes me feel unwanted."

Benoit paused while he was about to put some apple juice in the fridge. "Unwanted?" He shut the door and turned to her. "You feel unwanted?" he asked incredulously.

While crossing her arms, Julia bowed her head. "A little bit." She huffed and shut her eyes before looking at him. "I'm not trying to pressure you or make you feel bad, I'm just telling you how I feel and I feel sexually unwanted."

Benoit set the juice on the counter and closed the gap between him, the look of shock still on his face. "I apologize if you feel that way, Julia, for that was not my intention."

"I know, and I'm sorry," she said, putting a hand to her forehead. "I just want all of you, Benoit. I'm not as patient as you, we've been teasing the hell out of each other for five days now, I've even been..." she stopped herself as she blushed heavily.

Benoit got even closer. "You have even been what?"

Julia looked away from him, embarassed at what she almost admitted to him. "It's nothing."

He turned her face towards him. "Julia, whatever it is, I will not judge or get mad."

 _"I can't tell him I've been masterbating!"_ she thought. _"It's so embarassing!"_

"I...I can't," she stammered, still having bright red cheeks.

"Why not?"

"It's embarassing."

Benoit dipped his head, giving her a "really?" sort of expression. "C'mon, you can tell me."

 _"I really shouldn't,"_ she thought.

Julia began wringing her hands together. She closed her eyes tightly, deciding to just say it. Quietly. "I've been masterbating..." she whispered.

"You what?"

"I said I've been masterbating."

She kept her eyes shut, waiting for him to blow up at her or something. When he said nothing, Julia opened up one eye to look at him. His eyes were very dark and she knew that look well. His eyes got that way whenever he was feeling frisky.

_"He's...he's turned on by this?!"_

Benoit yanked Julia to him and placed his lips on hers, kissing her almost desperately so she flung her arms around him and mirrored his kiss. When they parted, he smirked down at her.

"Show me," he murmured.

"W-What?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Show me how you please yourself. I want to see you do it."

Julia blushed harder than ever, averting her gaze from his. "I can't, it's too...too..."

"Too what?"

_"Embarassing. Intimate. Makes me feel too vulnerable. I don't know!"_

"Benoit, it's too...shameful," she said, biting her lower lip.

Benoit grabbed her hands and kissed them. "Please? You have no idea how much that gets my motor goin'."

Julia frowned. She did want to please him, and she was very sexually frustrated, and she felt this would be a step in the right direction of them having intimate relations.

"...A...alright, but..."

"I promise if it gets too uncomfortable, you can stop," he stated, looking into her eyes. "But I really, really want to watch you," he leaned in, licking her earlobe as his fingers brushed against her mound which made Julia gasp in pleasure, "cum from offin' yourself."

_"Oh God, he touched me. He finally fucking touched me down there!"_

"Y-You keep doing that and you're just gonna rile me up, Benoit," she stuttered.

Benoit looked down and stroked her again, rubbing his fingers up and down her clothed slit. He kissed her lips, her cheek, her jawline and her neck as she raised her head back. This was a new side to Benoit that she hadn't seen before...and she _loved_ it. However, he stopped and it made Julia whimper. He put his mouth to her ear and breathed softly.

"Go to the bedroom. Get ready while I finish putting away the groceries," he muttered seductively. "I want you completely naked and on that bed in two minutes or I will _really_ make you pay for it."

_"Oh my God..."_

Julia felt her knees go weak and she would have crumbled to the floor had Benoit not caught her. It made him chuckle. "You alright, chickapen?"

"Yes...just..." she looked up at him, completely flabbergasted by his behavior, "you've never spoken that way to me before."

"I told you, I keep the bad boy locked up," he said to her.

"Well let him out more often."

"I will...in time. Now," he grazed her cheek with his thumb and kissed her. "Now you have one minute. And do not start without me. I want to watch the whole process." He kissed her softly and smiled at her deviously. "Go."

Julia immediately ran out of the kitchen to the bedroom, practically ripping her sweater and shirt off. She undid her ponytail and quickly slipped out of her jeans, kicking them across the room. She slipped off her socks, her panties and her bra, tossing them to the floor before crawling into bed. Julia laid on her back, bent her knees and spread her legs ever so slightly, breathing heavily. She'd never masturbated in front of another person before, and while she felt scared, she also felt exhilaration at the thought of it. Julia heard the door open and she looked over to see Benoit stepping in with a folding chair, closing the door behind him with a soft click. His eyes wandered over her body and Julia gulped.

"Julia, you really are the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on," Benoit said with a smile.

Julia felt her cheeks flush and she smiled sheepishly. "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself."

Benoit briefly chortled before unfolding the chair and setting it by the bed. As he sat in it, he never took his eyes off Julia, and he crossed his legs before balancing his elbow on the arm rest, placing two fingers on his chin.

"You may start whenever you feel comfortable, Julia," he said softly. Julia looked away from him towards the wall. She started touching one of her breasts when he spoke up. "Look at me. I want to see your face."

Julia turned her face to him but kept her eyes shut. She wasn't sure she could watch him watch her. Her heart was pounding as her fingers went over her nipples, pinching them softly.

"Open your eyes, Julia."

Julia did as she was told and looked at him, biting her lower lip. His eyes darted up and down her body but he mostly focused in on her face. She let a hand drift down to her stomach and to her groin, touching her clit softly. Julia moaned as she gently rubbed herself while her other fingers played with her nipple, never taking her eyes off him. As she continued she saw Benoit's eyes get more hooded than they were before.

_"He's really enjoying this..."_

His enjoyment made her feel more turned on and soon her labia was slick and wet. She moaned again and bit her lip once more, still keeping her blue eyes on Benoit. He got closer to the bed and resumed his previous position.

"Does this please you, Detective?" she asked with a smirk.

Julia saw him shiver and she giggled. "I like it when you talk," he said.

She smiled and licked her lips. "You can get closer if you'd like..."

Benoit stood up and got on the bed to sit next to her, still watching her face. "May I have permission to touch you?"

"You have permission."

Benoit slowly put his hand on her flat stomach and shut his eyes for a moment before opening them again. He let his hand trail up to her neglected breast and kneaded it softly, making her moan more.

"I want you to sit up."

Julia stopped what she was doing and scooted back to the wall before opening her legs and going back to pleasuring herself. Benoit moved to kneel in front of her and started breathing heavily when he looked down at her womanhood.

"You...gorgeous woman," he said, looking back up at her face. "I cannot wait until our fourth or fifth date."

"Then don't wait," she said, going faster with her fingers. "Go ahead and fuck me."

Benoit's eyes fluttered but he shook his head with a smile. "Tempted as I am to engage in relations with you, Miss Drysdale, I would rather watch you fuck yourself at the moment."

Julia guffawed loudly. "You said fuck."

"So I did."

Julia smirked lightly and slid her middle finger down to go inside her wetness. She started wiggling it around and pulling it in and out. "Like this?"

"Yes. Just like that," he groaned. Julia continued on and Benoit placed his hands on her knees, staring down at the area between her legs. He scratched at her thighs and she moaned, arching her head back a little. "Julia, eyes on me."

Julia nibbled on her lip as she kept pleasuring herself, staring into his crystalline blue eyes. Benoit stared at her hungrily, licking his own lips. She went faster and moaned again as her finger slipped out and went back onto her nub. While she did that, Julia gripped her nipple and gasped. She could feel the pressure building inside and she went faster still, swirling her bean around. Her eyes opened and closed rapidly, still trying to keep them on Benoit.

"Benoit, I'm getting close," she whimpered.

"Good. That's good," he mumbled, rubbing up and down her thighs before spreading them wider.

Julia moaned loudly and began breathing rapidly, her chest heaving up and down. Sweat started building on her body as she went faster and faster, biting her lip and grunting.

"I'm gonna...oh shit..."

Finally the orgasm hit her like lightning and she moaned loudly, feeling the pleasure wash over her entire body. Benoit's eyebrows raised as he looked between her face and her nether regions.

"My Lord," he uttered. "That sure was somethin' to behold, chickapen."

Julia laughed breathlessly and removed her hands from her body. "Did you like it?"

"Yes, very much so," he said, leaning over to kiss her lips. "Thank you for lettin' me watch."

"You're welcome."

Julia grinned at him before getting out of bed to get back into her clothes. "What are you doin'?"

"Getting dressed," she said, bending over to grab her clothes from the floor. "What's it look-"

Julia felt hands on her hips and she stood up straight, turning to face Benoit. "I'm sorry. I could not resist touchin' you," he said, running his hands up and down her rump and back.

"That's alright, you can touch me all you want."

Benoit smiled and pulled her into a close embrace before kissing her deeply


	17. Dinner With The Drysdales

As Julia tried to dress herself, Benoit kept stopping her to kiss her. She had to kick him out of the bedroom so she could finish. While slipping into her blue jeans, her phone started to ring. In just her pants and a bra, she answered it with a hello.

_"Hi Julia."_

"Dad. Hi. How are you?"

_"I'm good. Real good. Your mother has agreed to marriage counseling."_

Julia gasped happily. "Oh that's great news!"

_"Yes, it is. Listen, kiddo. I have a favor to ask you."_

"Alright, what's the fav-ack!" Julia said as she felt arms wrap around her from behind and a bite to her neck.

_"You okay, Julia?"_

Julia laughed and smacked Benoit's arm before putting her hand on the receiver. "Detective, get ahold of yourself," she whispered with a giggle. She'd never known Benoit could be so playful when riled up.

_"Julia, is everything okay?"_

"Yes, Dad. I just tripped. Anyway, what's the favor?" she asked as Benoit continued biting into her flesh. God, the man was making it so hard for her to talk. She blocked the receiver once more. "Benoit, stop," she whispered.

"No," he chuckled, tightening his grip on her.

_"Well, I want to take your mom out for dinner and I was wondering if you and the detective would like to join us."_

Julia's mouth dropped. "You're kidding."

_"No, why would I be kidding about this?"_

"Because Mom doesn't even like Benoit!"

Benoit perked his head up and whispered into Julia's ear before kissing behind it, "what is he talkin' about?"

Julia put her hand on the receiver again. "My mom and dad want us to go out to dinner with them."

_"She doesn't dislike him, she just doesn't think you should be dating someone fifteen years older than you."_

Julia smirked. "Actually, he's eighteen years older than me."

_"...He's fifty?"_

"Yep."

_"Oh dear God."_

Julia barked with laughter as the detective bit her shoulder and there was a rustling on her dad's end. _"Julia, the detective is fifty?!"_ her mom yelled.

"Yes, he's fifty. Why do you have such a problem with it? It's not like he's fifty and I'm eighteen," Julia said, almost giggling into a fit. "Besides, he treats me like a queen and he makes me happy so what difference does his age make?"

There was silence on the end of the phone as Benoit nibbled on Julia's ear. "I take it we will not be attendin' dinner with them?" he asked quietly.

Julia rolled her eyes, turned her head and kissed Benoit. "Mother, father, are we still doing dinner or not?" she said into the phone.

 _"Yes, we're still doing dinner,"_ Richard commented.

"Okay. When and where?"

_"6:30 at The_ _Atlantic Room_ _."_

"In Boston?"

_"Yes."_

"Alright, we'll meet you there."

_"Sounds good. Bye, love you."_

"Bye, love you too." Julia hung up the phone and groaned. "This is going to be a disaster, I just know it."

"Don't be so pessimistic, chickapen," Benoit said, kissing the side of her neck.

"And you!" she turned around and pointed a finger at him. "What has gotten into you? Distracting me like that during a phone call?" she scolded while laughing.

Benoit pouted at her and gripped her hips. "You said you wanted to see the bad boy more often. And watchin' you please yourself makes it harder to lock him back up."

Julia smirked evily and draped her arms around his neck. "Well then...I suppose the bad boy wouldn't mind if I took a shower, then?"

Benoit's eyes dilated more. "May the bad boy join you?"

Julia slapped his arm playfully. "No, the bad boy may not join me," she said with almost a sinister grin.

Benoit got to his knees, put his arms around her and started kissing her tummy, looking her with pleading blue eyes. "Please?"

Julia looked down at him with a soft smile as she ran her hands through his hair. "Benoit..."

"I will be the perfect gentleman, I promise," he begged, still kissing her stomach.

"Benoit, I will not be a lady if we take a shower together," Julia warned. "I mean it. I will be all over you and your...bad boy."

Benoit wheezed out a laugh and smiled brightly up at her. "Chickapen, you are a real tease."

"I know." Julia smirked lightly and stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. "Now please let go of me so I can go take a shower."

"But Julia..." he whined.

Julia raised a brow. "Did you just whine at me?"

Benoit lowered his eyes and continued kissing her abdomen. "I might have."

 _"Wow, this side of him is...surprising. Never saw this coming."_ Suddenly Julia smirked again as she combed her fingers through his short, blonde hair. _"I could have a lot of fun with this."_

"Now who's sexually frustrated..." she asked.

"I am," he mumbled as he bit into her skin.

"Ouch! Hey!" she cackled loudly. "Seriously, Benoit, you gotta..." he bit her again with a growl, "sto-ha-ha-op!"

"Kissin' you madly is the only thing that will appease me, Miss Drysdale," he drawled lowly. "Your lips up there or..." he unbuttoned her jeans, "...your lips down here..."

_"Oh my God..."_

Julia trembled from the thought of him eating her out. "What about our fourth or fifth date?" she breathed as he unzipped her pants.

"To hell with it," he grumbled. "Simply to hell with it."

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes."

Julia's eyes widened. "Well shit, we might as well go all the way, Detective."

He looked up at her with the devil in his eyes. "Okay."

Julia's eyes widened more. "Wait, really? Are you sure? Because-"

Benoit yanked her pants down and started kissing her thighs as he began rubbing her ass. "I'm quite sure, Julia."

Julia frowned down at him. "Benoit, are you sure you're thinking straight?"

"No, I most certainly am not, but I do not care anymore," he growled, still kissing her thighs teasingly. "I cannot think clearly after what you showed me..."

Julia arched her head back and sighed. She knew he wasn't being himself and she couldn't let Benoit have sex with her in good conscience, so she grasped his hair a little tighter and forced him to look up at her with a rebuked look on her face.

"Benoit Blanc, you need to start thinking straight. If we were to have sex now, you'd regret it afterwards," she explained softly.

Benoit shook his head. "I could never regret havin' intercourse with you."

Julia wobbled her head and rolled her eyes. "I mean you'd regret not waiting. Now put the bad boy back under lock and key, and-"

Benoit shot up and grabbed Julia's face before kissing her, taking her off guard. "No," he said, kissing her with a desperation that made her knees weak. "I want you too much," he cooed against her mouth.

Julia puffed up her cheeks and let out some air with a raspberry as she raised her head back. As he placed soft kisses along her jawline, her resolve began to dwindle. She _could_ say the hell with it like he did and just let him take her. She _could_ let him take off her underwear, open her legs and let his mouth explore every nook and cranny of her womanhood. She _could_ deal with the consequences later...but Julia was not going to do any of those things.

She was going to have to end this little session the hard way.

She smirked at him and kissed his lips ever so softly. "Take off your clothes and join me in the shower," she whispered along his lips.

Benoit immediately began undressing himself in a hurried fashion as Julia stepped out of her pants and walked out of the bedroom to the bathroom. She slipped out of her panties and bra, set them on the floor and lifted the nozzle on the faucet so that the shower head would work instantly. Benoit came into the bathroom completely naked and with a condom in his hand, his blue eyes still dark with lust. Julia looked down and gulped.

"Wow," she uttered. "You are really...quite a specimen, Benoit Blanc."

"Thank you," he said with a smile before setting the condom down on the sink. "Get in."

Julia shook her head. "Ah ah ah," she said, wagging her finger. "You first."

Benoit chuckled and nodded his head. "Yes, ma'am," he whispered before pulling the shower curtain back and stepping in.

Julia caught a glimpse of his butt and almost fainted as she nibbled on her lip and quietly groaned. _"Good Lord, that ass..._ _no, I need to focus right now."_

"Now close your eyes," Julia said as she opened the curtain.

He did as he was told and Julia took a minute to stare at his entire body with a bite to her lip. _"Jesus, I can't wait until I get to have sex with him. It's going to be a spiritual experience for sure."_

"Chickapen, I'm waitin'." Julia giggled and opened the other end of the curtain before turning on the cold water. It came out of the shower head with a hiss and hit Benoit. "Jesus Christ!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as she let go of the curtain.

"You need to cool off, Benoit!" she called out over the sound of water. "Lock that bad boy up so we can get ready for dinner!"

Julia grabbed her things and walked out of the bathroom, giggling as she heard a loud growl emanating from the shower. She got redressed in the bedroom and walked out to the living room to watch some tv while she waited for Benoit.

Ten minutes went by when she heard the shower go off. Soon she saw a wet Benoit walk in with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist and her breath hitched.

 _"God DAYUM that man is fine!"_ she thought. _"Dammit, I should've just let him fuck me."_

Julia immediately regretted turning the water on him, but then Benoit was looking bashful and she tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong?"

He looked at her with a frown on his face. "I must apologize for my senseless behavior, Miss Drysdale."

Julia perked up on the couch. "What? Why?"

"Because I was actin' like a sexually crazed fool."

Julia cackled loudly and shook her head. "Trust me, you have nothing to apologize for."

"I don't?"

Julia shut the tv off and left the couch to walk to him. "No. You were just being horny," she explained, grasping his cheeks and kissing him. "It's perfectly fine."

"Julia, I will not lose control like that again."

Julia pouted. "Well that sucks. I liked that you lost control."

Benoit raised a brow. "Really?" He scoffed with a chuckle. "Is that why you doused me in cold water?"

"No, silly. I did that so you wouldn't do something you'd regret later. But when we finally do have sex, lose all the control you want, baby," she said as she trailed a finger down his cheek.

Benoit leaned into her hand, closed his eyes and kissed her palm. "Thank you for makin' me come back to my senses, but I would never regret havin' relations with you."

"I know." She kissed him softly on the cheek and pat his shoulder. "Now I'm gonna go get in the shower."

"Okay."

Julia grinned and walked past him towards the bathroom.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Julia asked as Benoit drove through downtown Boston.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" he replied.

Julia sighed and leaned her head on the window. "Because they're my parents. You know what they're like...sort of."

"I do, but they do not scare me."

"Yeah, well, you already have your age going against you. And the fact that you called them vultures at the feast is not a good thing."

Benoit laughed. "True, but I will do my best to make up for it."

They drove up to The Atlantic Room and Julia instantly felt butterflies in her stomach. She was so nervous about this and she didn't even know why, really. She looked down at her black dress that she was wearing under her overcoat. It was the same one she'd worn on her and Benoit's first date, and he chose to go with the same black suit as before. Was this dress suitable enough?

Before she could open her own door, a valet had opened it for her. She thanked the man and got out, holding onto her black and white clutch as the chilly night air hit her. Benoit appeared at her side and held out his arm, so Julia linked her arm with his. They both walked into the restaurant and Julia looked around. It was a classy place. The dining area was full of white clothed tables, black and green swirly carpeting, wooden walls, and there was a big, circular fountain in the middle with water coming from the ceiling and dripping down. Piano music was playing off in the distance somewhere.

A host greeted the couple. "Hello, how may I help you tonight?" he asked.

"We're meeting people here. The Drysdales?" Benoit said.

"Yes, of course." He turned and pointed to a corner in the dining room. "They're just over there."

Julia felt her palms sweating as she and Benoit walked through the area. Her parents spotted them and waved. Her dad was in a gray and black suit and her mother was in a black and white sparkly dress. Julia smiled at them both, still feeling nervous as her and Benoit made their way over to the table.

"Hey kiddo," Richard said affectionately.

Benoit went behind Julia and pulled out her seat for her and she sat down. He pushed in the chair for her then took his own seat.

"Mr. Drysdale, Mrs. Drysdale," he said, nodding to them both respectively.

"Detective Blanc," they both said dryly.

Julia bit her lip. _"Oh, this is going_ great _already_ _,"_ she thought sarcastically.

The group picked up their menus and started looking at what they wanted. A waiter came by and asked what drinks they wanted.

"Wine," everyone except Benoit said.

"I'll just have water, thank you," Benoit stated.

When the Drysdales agreed on what kind of wine, a Pinot Noir, the waiter walked away to go get a bottle. Julia folded her hands in her lap and looked at her parents.

"So, how are things?" she asked them both.

Based on the way her father and mother looked at each other with unease, Julia knew she'd stepped on a land mine. _"Shit."_

"Why don't we talk about you, dear?" Linda suggested, folding her hands under her chin and elbowing the table. "How are you doing?"

"Good," Julia said with a bobbing of her head. "No car chases, no crazy Hellers, no ex-husbands calling me out of the blue."

Richard eyed the detective. "Well, it makes me happy that you're keeping her safe."

The detective nodded. "Mmm, yes. As it does me."

Julia cocked her head to the side as the two males stared each other down. "So do you still think we are vultures at the feast?" Richard asked him.

"Dad..." Julia groaned.

"What? I'm just asking a question."

"You're baiting him," Julia explained. "Don't."

The waiter came by with their wine and poured glasses as Benoit and Richard continued their staring contest. The waiter also filled Benoit's glass with water and he took a sip. "Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked.

"I'll have the Atlantic salmon with mango relish, and with asparagus, please," Julia said immediately.

"Seared scallops with jalapeno vinaigrette," Benoit replied.

"Red snapper livornese," Richard stated.

"Grilled filet mignon and shrimp, parmesan garlic," Linda ordered.

The waiter took down all their orders and smiled at them. "Okay, I'll come back with your orders," he said before walking away.

"So, detective..." Richard continued. "Do we still have knives out and bloody beaks?"

Julia looked at Benoit, wringing her hands together. This was not going to be good, she could tell. Benoit simply chuckled and remained calm.

"I only based that on most of your family's behavior towards Miss Cabrera at the will reading, Mr. Drysdale. Feel free to change my mind of that opinion," the detective said coolly.

Richard looked taken aback as did Linda. Julia shut her eyes and shook her head. _"Well, he could've said a lot worse."_

Julia knew Benoit was not the type to suck up to people. He was blunt, but he was suave about it. Well, for the most part. However, she had a feeling this dinner date was just going to go downhill from here.

"How long have you been a detective, Benoit?" Julia asked, clearing her throat.

He looked at her and smiled. "Oh, about twenty five years now."

"And how did you get into it?"

"My father was a police detective. Actually, your grandfather knew him."

Julia arched a brow. "Really? Well, isn't that something..."

"Mmhmm."

"Your father knew my father?" Linda asked.

Benoit looked at Linda. "Oh yes. They were not close but they had an immense amount of respect for one another."

"Funny, my father never mentioned him."

Benoit shrugged. "That is funny, but as I said, they were not close."

Julia drained her glass of wine. While her parents and Benoit conversed, the waiter came by to fill her glass and was about to walk away when she stopped him.

"Please leave the bottle," Julia said under her breath.

The waiter did just that and Julia drained her glass once more before refilling it. God, this was going horribly wrong. She could tell the conversation was getting a bit heated as it turned to the will of Harlan Thrombey but only on her parent's end. Benoit remained collected as usual, but Julia was half expecting her parents to blow up at him. She just wanted to crawl under the table and die.

"Julia?" Benoit asked. "Are you feelin' okay?"

Julia nodded, taking a sip of her wine. "Mmhmm. Just...thirsty."

Benoit eyed the bottle of Pinot Noir and frowned. "Chickapen, you are on your third glass of wine."

"Yup, and I will be on my fourth in a minute."

Richard chuckled loudly. "She drinks when she's uncomfortable or upset," he explained.

"Yes, I have noticed," Benoit said, placing his hand over hers. "Why are you uncomfortable and or upset?"

Julia drank her wine and sighed as she put it down. "Because you three are starting to argue about Granddad's will and I'd much rather you not because it will turn into a big scene, no doubt."

Richard laughed and leaned back a little. "We're not arguing, we're discussing the specifics of why Harlan did such a thing."

"Yes. I still don't think it was right of him to do that," Linda cut in. "He cut you out of it, too."

Julia narrowed her eyes. "He didn't cut me out. I specifically told him not to include me in his will a long time ago."

Richard and Linda gaped at her. "What?" they both said in shock.

"Now why would you do a silly thing like that?" Richard asked.

"Because I have my own money and don't need a single red dime of his."

"But what he did still wasn't fair," Richard said.

Julia jutted her jaw to the side. "Really?" She crossed her arms. "You were caught having an affair, Joni was caught double dipping on Meg's tuition payments, he fired Walter from the publishing company and Ransom is an entitled prick who doesn't deserve a fucking cent." Julia leaned forward. "He wanted to cut you all off so you could learn to fend for yourselves, so you all could be independent and learn to not be so god damn entitled. Marta earned the inheritance by being a good friend and a kind nurse to Granddad while all of you were only nice to him because of his money."

Linda gasped and Richard grunted. Benoit cleared his throat. "Julia, I uh, think you have had enough of that wine," he said, reaching over the table for the bottle.

Julia grabbed his arm and glared at her boyfriend. "Don't you even start that shit, Benoit Blanc."

"Julia?" a voice behind her said.

She closed her eyes tightly. _"Fuck, can I not go anywhere without running into people I wish I didn't know?"_

Julia turned around in her seat and narrowed her blue eyes at the man standing behind her. "Charles."

Charles was a tall man with slick blonde hair and green eyes. A handsome man with a strong jawline and the best short beard a man could could possibly have. The thought disgusted her.

"It's uh, nice to run into you," he said.

"I wish I could say the same. Actually, I don't."

Richard stood up and leaned his knuckles on the table. "What do _you_ want, Charles?"

"I just wanted to come by and say hello," Charles said, tucking his hands into his pocket. "Hello, Mr. Drysdale. Mrs. Drysdale."

Linda scoffed and turned her head from him and Richard scowled. "Hello, Charles. Now scram."

Charles ignored the man and looked at Julia. "Julia, could I talk to you alone?"

Benoit turned to look at Charles. "That is a bit inappropriate of you, isn't it?"

Charles narrowed his eyes at Benoit. "And who are you?"

"I'm her boyfriend."

Charles' eyes went wide. "Her boyfriend? Ha! Aren't you a bit old for her, Grandpa?"

"Charles!" Julia exclaimed madly, looking at him angrily.

Benoit cleared his throat and stood up. He was slightly shorter than Charles but Benoit was certainly more confident. Julia could tell by both their stances that they were sizing each other up. Charles was prone to be domineering, but Benoit was more of the silent, confident intimidating type.

"I may be a bit older, but that just makes me more experienced at being a gentleman, unlike you," Benoit snarled, making Charles scoff in amusement. "Now why don't you skedaddle off to who knows where and leave _my girlfriend_ alone?"

Charles laughed. "Skedaddle? What's that, some word used during the Great Depression?"

Before Benoit could say anything else, Julia stood up and pointed at Charles. "Listen here, Charles. You and I have nothing to say to each other and if you insult my boyfriend again, I'll whip your god damn pathetic ass all the way to Timbuktu. Understand?"

Charles wheezed out a laugh and smiled at Julia. "Still a little spitfire, aren't you? I miss that about you."

"Well you should've thought about that before cheating on me with Helen. You should've thought of that before cheating on me again while we were doing marriage counseling. You should've thought about that when-"

Charles held up his hands to stop her. "Okay, I get it. Look, just five minutes of your time is all I ask.

Julia crossed her arms and pivoted her hip, thinning her lips tightly. "No."

"Oh c'mon, Julia."

Benoit got in between the two people. "I do believe the lady said no."

Richard came by Benoit's side. "You heard her, Charles. Now get lost."

Charles sighed and looked past them at an annoyed Julia. "This isn't over, Julia," he claimed before walking away.

Julia quickly sat back down and gulped down her wine before pouring herself another glass. Benoit sat down next to her and rubbed her back while Richard returned to his seat.

"Are you okay, chickapen?" he asked her with concern etched on his face.

"Yeah, just peachy. The world is my fucking oyster and I'm the big god damn pearl," she said sarcastically, elbowing the table and leaning her forehead into her palms.

Benoit kissed her cheek before leaning his head on hers. "I'm sorry...I didn't embarass you, did I?"

Julia shook her head and looked at him. "No, you were brilliant, Benoit. I can't believe he called you Grandpa. What a dick."

Benoit chuckled, fingered her chin and kissed her softly. "I'd much rather be a grandpa than a hubristic, infernal little shit like him."

Julia laughed loudly and nodded. "I think I would prefer that too."

"Well, I'd say you handled yourself very well there, Detective Blanc," Linda said with a smile.

"Agreed," Richard said.

Finally the waiter came with their food and they all started eating and chatting away nicely. Julia was surprised at her parent's change in attitude towards Blanc. They were even laughing at some of his jokes.

When dinner was finished, they all ordered a big Baked Alaska to share. Julia was delighted to have it, especially after the little encounter with her ex-husband. By the time dessert was almost over and Julia had five glasses of wine, she had a good buzz going on as she ate the last piece of Baked Alaska.

"Oh, this is so good," she commented gladly.

Benoit chuckled delightfully. "Yes, you've said that several times."

A giggle escaped Julia. "I know, but...it's just _so good."_

The waiter came by to clear the table and give the check. Richard and Benoit started debating lightly about who got to pay.

"Now now, we invited you out to dinner," Richard began, "so I get to pay."

"But I must insist," Benoit argued. "At least let us split the checks."

Julia grasped Benoit's arm and squeezed it gently. "Just let my father pay and we can get the next one," she whispered into his ear.

She had a feeling there would be a next time.

Benoit finally conceded and let Richard get the check. When it was paid, they all got up to leave. Benoit helped Julia into her overcoat and she thanked him, eyeing her father who was looking rather happy.

"What?" she asked him with a slightly buzzed giggle.

"Nothing, just...well," he said, looking over at his wife then back to Julia, "can we talk for a minute?"

Julia looked at Benoit who smiled and kissed her cheek. "I will go collect the car," he said, his hand lingering on hers before he walked away.

Julia turned away to look at her parents. "What is it?"

"I think it's safe to say that we approve of him, Julia. He's definitely better than Charles ever was," Linda said with a humored grin.

Julia was ecstatic to hear that coming from her mother who previously disapproved of the relationship. "Really?"

"Yeah," Richard said with a genuine chuckle, resting his hands on his pockets. "Really, he's a catch for you. When can we expect grandchildren?"

Julia's jaw dropped. "Dad!"

"Oh Richard, stop that," Linda laughed before looking at Julia. "He's a good man, I think. Especially after standing up to Charles like that." Linda suddenly smirked. "When's the wedding?"

Julia felt her cheeks flush and she giggled. "Stooop..."

It was too soon to consider a wedding or grandchildren, honestly. Still, the thought did suddenly occur to Julia and it made her blush even more. Would Benoit even want any of those things? Ever? Or did he consider himself too old for kids or marriage? Not that Julia was going to ask Benoit about those things any time soon. She was just content to be with him and enjoy their time together.

When they exited the building, Benoit was waiting for her by the passenger door of his car. Richard and him shook hands, Julia kissed both her parents goodbye, and Benoit opened the car door for her. As she got in, Richard gave her a knowing wink. Julia rolled her eyes and waved as Benoit drove off.

"So, how did that go, you think?" Benoit asked her.

Julia started giggling into a fit. "They approve. So much so that they asked when the wedding would be and when they should expect grandkids. They were joking, of course."

Benoit eyeballed her from his peripherals. "Were they?"

"They were just teasing me, is all. Just be happy that they like you now."

Benoit reached over and grasped her hand. "Well, since we are on the subject..."

All the blood drained out of Julia's face. "Um, yeah?"

Benoit looked at her and sighed. "Nevermind. It is far too early to have this discussion."

Julia turned in her seat towards him. "No, Benoit...I...I'd like to know if that's something you would consider in the future. Maybe not with me, but with...someone."

Benoit kept his eyes on the road. "If I am being honest with you, Julia, I...I had not thought much about those things in my life...until..."

Julia blinked. "Until what?" Julia noticed Benoit shift in his seat. Was he uncomfortable with this talk of marriage and kids? "Detective, if you don't want to talk about this, I understand."

Benoit looked at her briefly before finding somewhere to pull over. When he stopped the car, he turned and looked at her with a serious expression.

"Julia, for a good portion of my life, I was content in the knowledge that I would not find a suitable woman to marry and bear my children. I was willing to go about my life just being a detective, a bachelor and nothing else. Granted, I have had a few relationships with women but they were not compatible with me."

He paused and Julia bobbed her head, noticing she felt a little disappointed in his answer. "Oh. I see."

Benoit lowered his head before gazing at her tenderly. "But then I met you."

Julia felt her heart leap into her throat. "Pardon?"


	18. Emily

_Detective Benoit Blanc went walking with Lieutenant Elliot and Trooper Wagner outside the house and Benoit pulled out his cigar._

_"See, I might be a victim of my own expectation here," Elliot began, "but when the great Benoit Blanc comes knocking at my door, I expect it's going go be about something," they continued walking alongside the house, "if not extraordinary, then at least interesting."_

_Benoit lit his cigar as they walked, suckling on the end as he puffed in smoke while he listened to Elliot._

_"But...I'm sorry," Elliot continued as Benoit noticed a baseball on the ground and picked it up, "this is an open-and-shut case of suicide."_

_It wasn't, and Blanc knew it. And whoever had anonymously hired him knew it, too._

_"...And uh, quite frankly, Benny, we're getting to the point where I need to know what we're doing here."_

_"The method?" Blanc asked as the two men stopped and he turned to them. "Throat slit?" he asked again as he held the ball in his hand before pocketing it. "Typical for a suicide?"_

_"Yes, I mean, it's dramatic, but look around." Benoit looked up at the house. "I mean, the guy practically lives in a Clue board."_

_Benoit puffed on his cigar as they resumed walking around the house to the back patio. "Hmm," was all Benoit said to all that information._

_Still, something did not add up. The detective could feel it in his bones and he had great instincts for this kind of thing. Still, he was barely at the beginning of putting the pieces together as he still needed to talk to two more people. Miss Marta Cabrera, the nurse, and Julia Drysdale, the romance novelist and Linda and Richard's eldest daughter. He felt they might have the missing pieces to fit the puzzle, or at least he hoped they did. They were, after all, pretty much the last two people to see Harlan Thrombey alive._

_"Come on, Benny, talk to me, alright?" Elliot said as they got on the patio. "Now you tell me to invite all these people back for questioning all over again, I get it."_

_"Listen, I've had boots on the ground in this county for a while now," Trooper Wagner stated. "People are generally what they seem to be. You're not gonna find murderers in this family."_

_"This is a pleasant family with the usual quarrels, but no possible motives for murder." Benoit noticed a shadow appear by the window and he walked towards it. "Where are you going?"_

_Benoit bent down to peek through a clearing in the window, spotting a girl eavesdropping on their conversation. Huh. Interesting. He knocked on the window after getting her attention and opened the porch door._

_"Harlan Thrombey's nurse, Marta..." he trailed off._

_"Cabrera," the girl finished for him._

_"Marta Cabrera, please," he said, ushering her outside._

_As Marta walked out, Benoit looked down the hallway and glanced at a woman briefly, but then he took another look at her. He paused for a millisecond to take in her features. The woman was...well, a young brunette with blue eyes, full lips, high cheekbones, a defined jawline...the woman was truly a vision to behold. Absolutely gorgeous. It seriously caught him off guard and he had no idea why. He'd seen beautiful women before, but this girl...there was something different about her._

_"And you must be Julia Drysdale?" he asked with a soft smile._

_The woman crossed her arms. "Yes," she said simply in a soft Boston accent that was barely detectable._

_"Would you care to step outside with us for a moment, Miss Drysdale?"_

_He needed to have a closer look at her._

_As she walked outside, Benoit caught a slight scent of coconut and it immediately brightened his mood. He shut the door and faced the both of them._ _"I've been doin' a little pokin'," he said, looking down at their feet._

_He noticed some blood spatter on both their shoes. Oh. Well, this was an interesting clue. Either they were prone to nose bleeds or they possibly witnessed Harlan Thrombey's demise._

"That's a shame, Miss Drysdale," _he thought to himself._ "You both are now my top suspects."

_He looked at Marta. "You were hired on a part-time basis as a registered nurse, yes?"_

_"Uh, yes," Marta replied. "I don't work for the VNA. Harlan hired me directly."_

_"Mmhmm. And you are the romance writer, correct?" Benoit asked Miss Drysdale, looking into her eyes._

_"Yes," she replied as she pulled some loose hair behind her ear, which he found endearing. "That would be me."_

"Focus, Blanc," _he thought._

_"Hmm. Both of you, take a seat please," Blanc said as he sat across from them both. "And you're paid a flat rate for how many hours a week?"_

_"Um, well, I started at fifteen, and then he...he needed more help."_

_"Medical help?"_

_Marta lowered her gaze then lifted it. "He needed a friend."_

_Well, that was sweet of her to say. "Does havin' a kind heart make you a good nurse?" Benoit asked Marta._

_"What the hell kind of question is that?" Miss Drysdale asked a little angrily._

_Benoit looked at her and smirked. "You know, I hear tell that out of all the grandchildren, you, Miss Drysdale, were Harlan's favorite."_

_Julia blinked a few times at him and he smirked even more. Benoit liked taking her off guard like that._

_"Alright, Blanc, I mean..." Elliot said._

_Benoit nodded and looked at his other suspect. "Marta," he cleared his throat and continued with his questioning. He was surprised to find out that Marta's little quirk of throwing up when lying was actually a real thing and not some figure of speech. He'd apologized to Miss Drysdale for the way she found out about her father's affair and she scoffed as he gave Marta a handkerchief, telling him he was not one for delicacy._

_As he mulled over things in his head and spoke to Elliot more about motives, he heard Miss Drysdale yell._

_"Do you always do what my grandfather tells you?!"_

_Benoit had looked at the poor girl and frowned. She was obviously upset over this whole thing. On occasion, he would feel bad for being a blunt man and this was one of those times that he felt awful about it._

_"I'm sorry, Julia," Marta said with her head bowed._

_Miss Drysdale stood up. "It's...it's okay. It's not your fault. I just...wow, my dad is such an asshole," she growled._

_Blanc smirked at the woman once more. If only she wasn't a suspect..._

_"Miss Drysdale, I take it you'll be confrontin' your father about the affair?" Benoit asked._

_"You're damn right I will be!" she snapped._

_"Hmm," he said, smoking his cigar. "May I have the honor of witnessin' it?"_

_Julia's head tipped to one side. "You...you want to watch me tear my dad a new asshole?"_

_Blanc broke down laughing. That was a funny explanation of yelling at someone. "In a manner of speakin', yes," he chuckled._

_"Why?"_

_"I hear your temper is of great renown and a little bird told me it even rivals that of your mother's."_

_Julia narrowed her eyes. "Who the hell is this little bird you keep talking about?"_

_Blanc chuckled softly at her questioning. "I apologize if I'm bein' out of line."_

_Benoit knew he was, but he wanted to see what made this woman tick. As she addressed the officers, he studied her from head to toe. Once again, he noticed the blood spatter on her boots and he frowned._

_"Well, do you want to do it now or after you're done questioning us?" Julia asked Benoit._

_"I do not have a preference."_

_"Good." Suddenly she marched over to the porch doors and opened them. "DAD!" she shouted._

"Oh, the set of lungs on her..." _Benoit thought as he put his cigar out and followed her._

_She shouted out for her father again and this time he appeared from Harlan's office. Benoit chortled as she dragged her father back into the office and he quickly followed before she slammed the door shut. She turned and pointed her finger at her father._

_"How could you do this?!" she yelled at him._

_The more the two argued as Benoit watched, the more intrigued he became by the woman. Her physical mannerisms while mad, her stance, the tension she brought into the room was all fascinating to him. He was normally undisturbed or neutral when someone lost their temper, but this girl...there was something about her anger that he felt drawn to._

_When she was done yelling at her father, Julia swirled around and looked intensely at the detective as she opened the door. "Detective, we can finish the questioning now," she spoke bitterly._

_Blanc had been so taken aback by the look in her blue eyes, it barely registered with him when she left the room. Just that one look in her eyes was enough_ _for him to realize he'd made a grievous error in judgment when trying to gauge her personality._

_Detective Blanc_ _was now completely and utterly in love with_ _a suspect._

* * *

Julia stared at Benoit in shock when he said, "but then I met you."

"...Pardon?"

Benoit unbuckled himself and faced her completely. "Julia, I met you and then all of that changed. Now, I am not sayin' that I am goin' to propose any time soon, but I do see you as someone I _could_ spend all my nights and days with. I do see you as someone who _could_ carry my children one day."

Julia blushed profusely as she stared at him with her mouth agape. Was she scared? Yes, terrified at this information. But at the same time, she was ecstatic. Of course she could see them getting married and having kids. Certainly moreso than she ever saw that with Charles. He never wanted kids but she'd been hopeful to change his mind.

He never did.

"Julia?"

Julia blinked a few times to focus in on the present. "Sorry, yes?"

Benoit looked worried. A little scared, even. "Julia, if I have scared you, I-"

Julia unbuckled, grabbed Benoit by his coat collar and pulled him to her, kissing him heatedly. After a few moments, she pulled back and smiled at him. "Yes, I'm scared, but I don't care. I..."

Should she tell him that she was in love with him and everything about him? No, she couldn't. Just because he could see a future with her didn't mean he loved her, right? So instead of telling him, Julia just kissed him more. Benoit grasped the back of her head and pulled her closer into the kiss.

"Mmm, Benoit," she murmured.

"Hmm?" Benoit said.

"I know we're sleeping separately, but would you like to share the bed tonight?"

Benoit smiled against her mouth and nodded. "Yes."

"Good." Julia kissed him harder and eventually ended up straddling his lap. Benoit's hands ran up and down her back as his lips assaulted hers. "We should go home."

"Mmhmm, yeah," Benoit mumbled. "Let me just...kiss you more, mmm, for a bit."

"Okay," Julia said breathlessly.

They continued making out for a few minutes, their tongues dancing together until they heard a knock on the window. They both turned their heads and saw a police officer standing outside. Julia immediately began giggling.

"Oh shit," she said. "We're in trouble now."

Benoit sighed and rolled down the window. "How may I help you, officer?"

The cop looked green, very young. And he had a big blush on his cheeks. "Um, sir? You can't park here."

"Oh," Benoit said while Julia giggled again and moved back to her seat. "My apologies, officer, we were merely, um..." Benoit looked at her with a smile then back at the cop. "Havin' a discussion."

"A discussion? Right. Um...just move along, sir."

Benoit thanked the man, put the car in drive and drove away. Julia burst into laughter and arched her head back.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Julia asked, still laughing her head off.

"I did," Benoit chuckled.

"That's so funny."

"I know." Benoit glanced at her briefly. "So, um," he ahemed, "what about you? Do you think we could...have that kind of future? Eventually, I mean?"

Julia grinned at him and put a hand on his knee. "Yes."

Benoit smiled brightly, grabbed her hand and kissed it. "That makes me happy, Julia. It truly does."

The drive back to Benoit's was a long one but the couple spent most of that time talking about more of their childhood and interests. Julia was surprised to find that he had more than one sibling besides his brother Thomas. He had a sister named Franny who lived in New York with her husband. Benoit was the middle child, which didn't really surprise Julia.

When they got home, they both got into their pajamas and turned on a movie from Julia's stash. They'd decided on "Gone With The Wind" since it was a classic and that's what they were in the mood for.

It was around the invasion of Atlanta when Julia fell asleep on Benoit.

* * *

The next morning, Julia found herself in bed with Benoit and she grinned as she woke up, his arms wrapped around her. She decided she was going to make him breakfast so she slinked out of bed carefully to not wake up her boyfriend and went to the kitchen. She started grabbing items when she realized they had no bread.

"Shit, I better go to the store," she said to herself.

Julia put everything away, went back to the bedroom and quietly got dressed. She grabbed her gun just in case she would have to shoot any crazy stalkers, drivers or ex-husbands today. She grabbed her keys and locked the front door behind her, then she left the building and got to her car. Julia pat her damaged car and sighed.

"Don't worry, Wrex. I'll get you fixed up real soon."

She got into her car, turned the engine over and looked up on her GPS on her phone for the local supermarket. She wasn't too familiar with Benoit's neck of the woods. She selected start on the directions and drove off.

She made it to the store within five minutes. Julia got out and walked into the market.

_"Shit, I have no idea what kind of bread he likes. Ah hell, I'll get different kinds."_

Julia grabbed a basket and headed towards the bread aisle. As she was browsing, she noticed a woman in the aisle with her with long, fiery red hair. Julia thought it was beautiful.

"Excuse me," Julia said to the woman.

The woman turned around and grinned. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to compliment you on your hair. It's so beautiful."

The woman's brown eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. "Aww, thank you. I like your hair too."

Julia thanked her and went back to browsing for bread. "Hmmm..."

"Are you lookin' for something specific?" the woman asked.

"Just some different kinds. I wanted to make my boyfriend breakfast and I know he likes toast but I don't know what kind of bread he likes."

"Huh. New relationship, I take it?"

Julia grabbed a package of white bread. "Yep. Been dating for, oh, almost a week now."

"Only a week and you're already makin' him breakfast?"

Julia laughed. "Well, yeah. I've been staying at his place because of...renovations going on at my house, so...it's a thank you breakfast."

The woman smiled and grabbed some sourdough bread, handing it to Julia. "You should try this. Sourdough goes great as toast."

Julia grinned and grabbed the bread, putting it into her basket. "Thanks, I'll have to give it a shot."

"Excuse me?" a voice said behind Julia.

She turned around to see a couple college age girls. "Yes?"

"Um, are you Julia Drysdale, the writer?" one of them asked.

"Why yes I am," Julia replied.

"Um, can we have your autograph?"

Julia smiled, put her basket down and got out a pen from her purse. "Of course."

The girls squealed and got some paper from their own purses. "We're Diana and Patricia," they said together.

"Ah, okay." Julia grabbed the papers, signed their names respectively and her own signature before handing the autographs over. "Here you go."

The girls thanked her and went running off happily, giggling to each other as they did. Julia turned around but saw that the red head was gone and Julia shrugged. She picked up her basket and walked to the front register to pay for all the bread. Once that was done, Julia left the store and walked to her car. As she was about to get in, she heard a baseball bat hit the back of her car, startling her.

Julia turned toward the sound and saw the red head smashing her back window. "Hey, what the hell, lady?!" Julia shouted.

The woman growled and started walking to Julia, the end of her bat aimed at Julia. "You! You man stealing whore! I'll kill ya!"

_"Woa...what the fuck is she talking about?"_

Julia dropped her groceries and pulled out her gun, aiming it at the woman. "Back off, you crazy ass lady!"

The woman snarled and swung the bat at Wrex's window, smashing it with a crash. Pieces of glass scattered on the ground and Julia put her finger on the trigger.

"I said back off! Stop it or I'll shoot!"

The woman laughed and swung the bat again, denting Wrex. Julia had enough. She aimed at the woman's feet and fired off a round. It hit near the crazy lady's feet but didn't hit her. The woman yelped and jumped back. Julia lifted the gun and aimed at the woman's chest.

"That was a warning! Now get the fuck away from my car!"

Suddenly a man came running and grabbed the woman by the arm. "Emily, now is not the time!" he yelled.

"But Peter!" she shouted. "This woman stole Be-"

The man named Peter pulled her close and whispered something in Emily's ear. Julia was very confused, still aiming her gun at the red head. Emily growled, stealing a glare at Julia.

"This is _not_ over, bitch!" she yelled.

"I don't even know what _this_ is about!" Julia snapped.

Peter dragged Emily away across the parking lot. Julia watched them get into a black pick up truck and all the blood drained out of her face.

_"That truck...that's the one that ran me down! And...that must've been Peter Larson!_ _But who is Emily and why was she hurting my car?"_

The truck drove off with a squealing of its wheels and Julia put her gun away, adrenaline making her whole body shake. She remembered an "Emily" while eavesdropping on the detective's phone conversation, so she knew Benoit knew what was going on for sure. He had a lot of explaining to do when she got back.

* * *

Julia unlocked the front door and opened it to find a very distraught looking detective pacing back and forth. He looked at her with wide eyes and marched over to her.

"Julia, where did you go?! What the hell were you thinkin' goin' off by yourself?!" he snapped at her.

Julia narrowed her eyes at him and lifted the bag of groceries. "I went to get bread so I could make your toast along with your preferred breakfast preferences!" she snapped.

Benoit blinked at her and sighed. "Oh. I'm sorry, chickapen. I...did anything happen?"

Julia's eyes narrowed more. "Yes! I ran into Emily and Peter!"

Benoit's face contorted into anger. "What?"

"Yeah!" Julia barked, throwing the bread at him which he caught. "That crazy red head took a baseball bat to my car and I almost shot the bitch!"

Benoit's face went pale and he dropped the bag to grasp onto Julia's shoulders. "Are you okay? Wait, you almost shot her?!"

"No! No I'm not okay!" Julia belted out before picking up the bread and walking to the kitchen. "And yeah, because I brought my gun with me just in case!"

As she slammed the bag onto the counter and started grabbing things to make breakfast, Benoit went to her side. "How did you know it was Peter?"

"Because they both got into the black pick up truck after Peter talked her out of assaulting me. The same fucking truck than ran me down," Julia snarled while she grabbed eggs from the fridge. "You better tell me right now who the fuck Emily is and why she called me a man stealing whore and threatened to kill me!"

Benoit sighed and rubbed his face as Julia looked around in the cabinets for pancake mix. "Alright. She's my ex girlfriend."

Julia paused while reaching for the box of pancake mix. She shut the cabinet door, turned to face Benoit, leaned on a hand on the counter and placed her other hand on her hip, glaring furiously at Benoit. "Your ex," she stated.

"Yes. And Peter is her brother."

Julia breathed out something between a laugh and a whimper. "Your ex and her brother."

"Yes."

"And you couldn't tell me this before?!" Julia shouted, reaching back up for the pancake box.

"I did not want to scare you off," Benoit said, closing in on Julia. "I am so, so, sorry that this happened to you."

Julia laughed bitterly as she moved away from Benoit and looked for a big bowl. "Yeah, well, shit happens!" She kept searching for the bowl but Benoit opened a cabinet below the counter and pulled one out, giving it to Julia. "Thank you!"

She went to the fridge and grabbed the milk from it. "Julia...what are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?! I'm making you breakfast!"

"Julia, you don't have to-"

"Yes I do! I need to do something to take my mind off what happened to me!" she snapped, setting the milk on the counter and grabbing the pancake box to look at the directions. "God dammit!"

She started shaking from how mad and scared she was at everything that was going on in her life and she suddenly burst out crying. Benoit slowly grabbed the box from her, set it down and pulled her into his chest. "It's alright," he murmured into her hair.

"No, it's not," she sobbed into his chest. "It's just not. My ex husband won't leave me alone, the Hellers won't stop harassing me, now I have to worry about your damn ex and her brother being after me. My life is not okay right now!"

Benoit held her tighter and softly twisted to and fro at the waist to comfort her. "Shh, shh," he said, stroking her hair as she cried. "I'm so sorry I got you mixed up in my drama, chickapen."

"Well, to be fair," she sniffled, "you're mixed up in my drama too."

Benoit chuckled lightly and kissed the top of her head. "I know, and I do not regret bein' mixed up in it at all."

"How could you not?"

Benoit lifted her head and smiled down at her. "Because bein' with you is worth it all."

Julia sniffled again and pecked his chin. "You can't be serious."

"I am very serious," he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose.

"But why am I even worth the trouble?" she sniffed again, drying her eyes.

Benoit took a deep breath as he looked into her eyes. "Because I am in-"

Benoit's phone started ringing and he closed his eyes. Julia sighed and let go of him. "You should get that."

Benoit nodded and grabbed his phone from his pocket. "Detective Blanc." After a few seconds he frowned at Julia. "What? You're kiddin'."

"What is it?" she asked.

"You're on the news again."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Oh great."


	19. Wrex

_Benoit was sitting on the side patio, mulling the case over in his head but his thoughts kept drifting to Miss Drysdale. He couldn't keep that beautiful woman out of his head. He'd made a huge mistake and he knew that he had to solve this case as soon as possible so he could get as far away from her as he could._

"How could I be in love with her? I do not even know her," _he thought._

 _It was impossible. He'd never fallen for someone so quickly and he'd_ never _fallen for a suspect before. Yet he knew it to be true with every fiber of his being._

_He loved Julia Drysdale._

_But how?_

_As his mind kept going in circles, the woman he was thinking about came out onto the patio._

"Shit," _he thought._

_He took out his cigar and flicked his lighter. This made Miss Drysdale turn to look at him as he put fire to the end of his cigar._

_"Well, aren't you the mysteriously ominous type?" she said with a chuckle. "Sitting in a dark corner all by your lonesome."_

"Why is everything you say so adorable?" _he thought. He puffed on his cigar, merely humming at her._ "If I ignore her, maybe she'll go away or stop talking."

_He watched her intently as she shoved her hands in her pockets and swayed back and forth on her feet. "I suppose it's a nice night out to be...skulking in the darkness."_

_Benoit said nothing._ "Do not engage in friendly conversation," _he thought to himself._

_As she turned her face to the sky, his resolve to not speak to her disappeared. She was so beautiful in this lighting and when she looked back at him, shadows playing over her features, he couldn't help but smile._

_"I'm sorry, but why are you still here?" she asked him._

_"I stayed hopin' to speak to you a little more," he flirted before closing his eyes._

"Why oh why did I just tell her that?" _he thought._ "Get a hold of yourself, Blanc."

_"Me? Why?"_

_He went forward in the chair, thinking about how to answer her question. Then it came to him. "Well, you and Miss Cabrera, really, but something is afoot with this whole affair. " He grinned at her. "I know it. I believe you both know it, too."_

_The brief flash of fear on her face only confirmed his suspicions more...and it saddened him. He really didn't want to have to send her to jail. "Detective, I'm not sure I get what you-"_

_"_ _I also wanted to apologize for lettin' it slip about your father's cheatin' ways," Benoit interrupted. "I honestly didn't know you were ignorant of the fact."_

_"Oh."_

_The smile on her face made his heart stop._ "My Lord, that smile..."

_"It's okay. I'm glad I found out. Granted, it could have been done more...delicately."_

_Benoit let himself chuckle deeply before sucking smoke from his cigar. "Yes, it could have been revealed more delicately."_

_Julia cocked her head to one side and Benoit had to suppress an eye roll because every movement she seemed to make drove him nuts. Everything about her was charming the hell out of him, like he was under some sort of spell._

_"Why did you want to see me confront my father?" she asked._

_"To gauge what kind of person you are, Miss Drysdale. You have a good heart and a strong spirit. I can tell."_

_Benoit saw her cheeks flush._ "Is she blushing?" _he thought._

_"So, you're going to keep digging for the truth, then?" she asked._

_"Harlan's detectives, they dig. They rifle and root. Truffle pigs. I anticipate the terminus of Gravity's Rainbow."_

_Blanc watched with keen eyes when she grinned and sat down. "Gravity's Rainbow, huh? Well, I hate to disappoint you but I haven't read that book."_

_"Neither have I. Nobody has. But I like the title. It describes the path of the projectile determined by natural law. Et voila, my method. I observe the facts without biases of the head or heart, I determine the arc's path, stroll leisurely to its terminus and the truth falls at my feet."_

_The way Julia looked at him next made his breath hitch. The smallest of smiles, the widening of her blue eyes...wonderful. She looked more beautiful any time she smiled._

_"You sure do have a way with words, Detective. You should've been a writer," was her response._

_Suddenly he laughed and smiled at her. She was so charming, she really was. Suddenly he realized what was happening and he went back to being serious, sucking on his cigar and blowing out smoke. He got up and slowly walked to her._

_"The medical examiner was ready to rule this a suicide, but Elliot agreed to keep it pending for forty eight hours. Tomorrow morning, I search the grounds and the house, begin my investigation." Detective Blanc looked out over the lawn before gazing back at Miss Drysdale. "I want you and Miss Cabrera to be by my side for it."_

_Miss Drysdale shot up out of her seat. "Excuse me?"_

_"My confidantes. My eyes and ears," he added._

_"But why? Why us?"_

"To keep a close eye on you both. You and Miss Cabrera had something to do with Harlan's death, I know it," _he thought._

_"I trust your kind hearts," he said to her. "And also, Miss Cabrera is the only one who had nothin' to gain from Harlan's death."_

_"You're talking about the will. Well, I can assure you I have nothing to gain from Granddad's death, either. I specifically told him to keep me out of the will."_

_Benoit was shocked by this. He hadn't expected that at all. "Really? Why would you do somethin' like that?"_

_"Because I'm not a...a vulture waiting for a dead carcass to be picked at. Besides, I have my own money. Why would I need any of his?" the woman said in an irritated tone._

"Oh, you wonderful creature..." _he thought._

_"See? A good, kind heart," he commented as he stared deeply into her eyes._

_They were close now, and Benoit watched her gulp. Oh Lord. Her coconut infused scent filled him and it sent warmth all through him despite the cold fall air. He wanted to kiss her so badly in that moment and he might have had Marta Cabrera not suddenly come out through the porch doors. Thank the Lord. He ahemed and took a step back, looking at Marta._

_"Ah, Miss Cabrera. I was just tellin' Miss Drysdale that you both are to accompany me tomorrow in my investigation," Benoit stated._

_"What?" Marta said, looking quite pale all of a sudden_.

_"Yeah, we're to be his confidantes. His eyes and ears. Doesn't that just sound peachy?" she said through gritted teeth._

_Blanc faced Julia. "How about it, Watson?" he asked with a wink as he turned to walk to the patio doors._

"Why did I wink at her?" _he thought to himself._ "I must not flirt with her. She is a suspect."

* * *

_"Okay," Benoit said to himself as he paced back and forth on his bedroom, biting one of his nails. "Miss Drysdale is a suspect, nothing more. I just have to get through this case and then I can go on my merry way and never see her again."_

_He huffed and sat on his bed. But he wanted to see Miss Drysdale again, that was the problem. He wanted to see her smile, make her laugh, and give her sweet little kisses all over that damn beautiful mouth of hers. Furthermore, he wanted to call her by her first name. Benoit was at a loss on what to do about this dilemma he had put himself into._

_"Julia," he sounded out._

_It was such a pretty name for such a pretty woman._

_"Julia, Julia, Julia," he repeated. "Oh, what am I to do?"_

_He hunched over and rubbed his face, looking down at the floor. What was he to do?_

_"Just finish this case quickly. I know she had something to do with Harlan's death, so I must not pursue her. And that is the end of it."_

_He turned off his lamp light and got into bed, but he did not sleep very well. His thoughts kept turning and twisting towards the beautiful face of Julia Drysdale. It unnerved him greatly. He knew he was going to need some strong coffee in the morning._

_He was up before the sun rise and had a bowl of cereal, so he decided to go into the town not too far from Harlan's mansion to any local diner that had coffee. When he got to one and walked in, the smell of waffles hit his nose and he sighed happily. He picked out a booth and sat down, ordering black coffee when the waiter came. While he waited, the thought of the case came to him and he started swirling around in his head about the events of everyone that had been accounted for._

_His coffee came shortly and he drank, still going over everyone's whereabouts on that fateful night. But why did the dogs bark so late at night? What had they seen that stirred them up so much? Perhaps an intruder? Hmm, perhaps Miss Cabrera or Miss Drysdale?_

_The thought of Julia put a damper on Benoit's mood. He had not wanted to think about her._

_He finished his coffee but ordered another cup. Benoit spent a good ten minutes contemplating the case when none other than Julia Drysdale was standing by the diner door._

"Shit," _he thought._

_Though his mood soured more, he couldn't help the expression of happiness that came across his face. She waved at him meekly and without a second though, he waved at her to come sit with him._

"Shit, what am I doing?!" _he thought._

_"Fancy meeting you here," Julia said as she approached him._

_"Mmm, yes," Blanc replied with a bright smile. "Care to join me?"_

"Again, what the hell am I doing?!"

_With a creaking of the seat, Julia sat down across from him. As she removed her jacket, the waiter came back. As he took her order, Benoit gazed at her curiously._

_"Waffles, huh?"_

_"Oh, I_ love _waffles," she remarked gladly. "I will eat them any chance I get. Granddad always..."_

_Her eyes drifted down and she closed them tightly. Without thinking, he reached over and grabbed her hand. Her hand was so warm and smooth._

_"Miss Drysdale? Are you alright?" he asked her with concern._

_Julia looked into his eyes and gulped. "Um...yes. Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, was just thinking about Granddad."_

_Benoit gave her a quick nod. He felt so bad for her. "I truly am sorry for your loss, Miss Drysdale."_

_Danny the waiter came with her coffee and she quickly pulled her hand from his grasp. Benoit frowned and took a drink of his coffee._

"I really wanted to keep holding her hand...no, Benoit. You need to stop doing this to yourself. She is a _suspect_ , for Lord's sake!"

_"Did I upset you, Detective?" she asked him._

_"Oh. No, no you did not. I was just thinking about somethin'."_

_He watched her cool off her coffee with a breath from her lips. Lord, those lips. "Like what, if you don't mind me prying?"_

_Benoit moved in his seat and blinked madly._ "Just thinking about you, Miss Drysdale. Stop it, Blanc! Jesus, what is wrong with me?!"

_"Nothin' important. You write romance novels, correct?"_

_As they continued their conversation, Benoit found himself settling in comfortably with her as they talked about her books, then about the case a little bit. It was true, the case made no sense to him, but he was adamant on finding out Miss Drysdale and Miss Cabrera's involvement. He felt that they were at the very center of...hmm, he wasn't sure how to describe whatever it was that was missing its center. Oh well, it would come to him soon enough._

_When Miss Drysdale's waffles came and she began eating, his mouth parted._ "Even the way she eats is cute," _he thought._

_She stopped eating with a piece of waffle hanging out of her mouth and Benoit had to stop himself from laughing at her being so adorable. She averted her gaze to something else as she sucked it in. He picked up his cup and took a drink._

_"Sorry, I kinda eat like a pig," she said, food still in her mouth._

_This time he couldn't help but laugh at how precious she was being. "That's okay. I love a woman who enjoys her food."_

_Benoit watched her face flush and her eyes lift to his. "You do?"_

"Get your shit together, Blanc!"

_He took another sip of coffee, set it down, ahemed and went back to being serious. "Are you workin' on a book now?" he asked._

_As their conversation went on to various subjects, Benoit felt delighted in getting to know her better and not once did he chastise himself for it. He was living in the moment with her. Time went on and by their third cup of coffee, Julia noted the time._

_"Geez, it's already seven thirty-four!" she almost yelled, her eyes wide._

_"Sweet beans!" he commented, his expression mirroring hers. "We better get goin'!"_

_They paid for their food and practically ran out of the diner to their cars. When he noticed Miss Drysdale's Chevy Nova, he stopped in his tracks._

_"Your car...it's nice," he said to her._

_She gave him a playful grin that made his heart pump faster. "What can I say? I do love me a muscle car._

_He fought the urge to go over and check out her car. "Manual transmission?"_

_Julia frowned. "Unfortunately, no. When I bought it, the fool had replaced the transmission with an automatic. I do have plans to change it back myself, though. When I find the time for it."_

_Benoit look at her in shock. "You have plans? To do it yourself?"_

_"Oh yes, I've done it before. This isn't my only car, you know. I've also got a '69 Dodge Charger and a '70 Pontiac Firebird in my garage. I have my winter car, which is just a '97 Honda CR-V."_

"Oh, Julia...you are a rare woman, indeed," _Benoit thought._ "But alas, you are a suspect."

_Benoit couldn't help but smile, though. "You, my dear, are just full of surprises."_

* * *

Julia was watching a video on the news of her car being assaulted by Emily Larson and she sighed in frustration. "My life can't get any fucking worse," she growled, tossing the remote on the couch.

Benoit came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck. "Chickapen, I'm so sorry..."

Julia huffed and pat his forearm a few times. "It's not your fault, donut. You just happen to have a crazy ass ex-girlfriend."

Benoit chuckled and kissed the side of her neck. "I love it when you call me donut."

"Mm, do you now..."

"Yes," he mumbled against her skin. "You know what, though?"

"What?"

"I think the pancakes can wait, and you should have another bath with a bath bomb."

Julia grinned and turned around in his arms, completely forgetting about her woes. Benoit had that effect on her. "Do I now? Are you gonna join me?"

"I could if that is what you would like, my dear."

"Are you gonna get frisky again if I masterbate in the tub?" she teased.

Benoit growled, dug his fingertips into her hips and kissed her heavily. "Do not tease me like that, Julia. You know what that does to me."

Julia looked down at the bulge in his pants. "Yes, I do know. That's why I'm doing it."

She grasped his bundle and he gasped into her mouth. "Julia..." he moaned.

Julia loved how things could get hot and heated so quickly between them. She loved how riled up Benoit could get in mere seconds. Hell, she loved everything about him and their relationship. Despite all the drama going on, she loved the way he took care of her and made her feel safe in his arms, like nothing could hurt the both of them while they were touching, kissing, driving each other nuts with lust.

Julia rubbed him more and Benoit's rolled back into his skull as he growled. "Oh, Julia...you..." he grunted.

"Mmhmm?" she asked with a giggle. "Tell me what you want, Benoit."

"I want you in that tub right now, and I want you to please yourself with me in it."

Julia giggled and kissed his lips. "I can do that."

Julia's phone started ringing and she frowned. "Just let it go to voicemail, chickapen," Benoit begged as Julia kept teasing his crotch.

"Okay," she nodded before kissing him again.

The phone stopped ringing and Julia nibbled on Benoit's lower lip, making him groan. "Oh, the things you do to me..."

Julia laughed loudly and wrapped her arms around him. "Yeah, what do I do to you?"

"Mmm," he said, kissing her harshly. "You drive me absolutely insane."

Julia laughed again and pulled him closer when her phone began ringing again. "I better get that," she said.

"Noooo," Benoit whimpered as Julia got out of his grasp and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Is this Julia Drysdale?"_

"Yes, this is she."

_"Hello, this is Gregory with Vintage Parts Inc. I'm calling because you placed some orders on some parts for a...let's see here, a '69 Dodge Charger?"_

"Yes I did."

_"Well those parts are going to be delivered to your house today. The bumper, the fenders, the light casings..."_

"Oh that's great. I was told they were going to take longer to ship."

_"Yes, but we try our best to get ahead of schedule."_

"That's great news! Thank you!"

_"You're welcome. You should be getting the parts within an hour or so today."_

"Thank you so much, Gregory. I appreciate the fast service."

_"You're welcome. You have a pleasant day, now."_

"You too. Bye bye." Julia hung up the phone with a smile. "Finally, some good news."

"What's going on?" Benoit asked her.

Julia turned to him with a grin. "My car parts are coming today so I can start working on Wrex."

"...Wrex?"

Julia blushed a little. "Yes. I uh...name my cars."

Benoit laughed and pulled her to him. "You are so adorable. I love that. What are the rest of the names?"

"The Nova is Dutch, the Firebird is Phoenix, and the CR-V is Commander."

Benoit laughed again and kissed her. "That's lovely. But...do we have to go to your house to sign for the parts?"

"Yes, and I'd like to get started right away, so can we please go to my house so I can work on my car? Please?" she begged with a pouty lip.

Benoit sighed and kissed her softly. "On one condition."

"Anything."

He smiled at her and brushed a hair behind her ear. "Let me help you work on your car."

Julia blinked. "Seriously? You wanna help me with my car?"

"Yes."

Julia grinned. No significant other ever wanted to help her work on her cars before. Especially Charles. He hated getting his hands dirty.

_"I really do love you, Benoit..."_

"Okay, you can help."

"Good. Now let's go get some breakfast," he said, swaying with her in his arms, "and let's go fix up Wrex."

"Okay, but first...you got any old clothes anywhere? You're not gonna wanna be in a suit or anything while doing this," she explained.

* * *

Julia laughed at Benoit who was having a hard time unbolting the old bumper. "You might need to put more WD-40 on the bolts, donut," she said, hovering over him while holding the bumper.

Benoit grunted and reached for the can of WD-40 and started spraying the bolts again before grabbing the socket wrench and undoing the bolts. "There we go, they are coming off much better now."

"Okay. Make sure you put the old ones in that magnetic bowl by your head."

Benoit did as he was told and soon all the bolts were off. Julia yanked off the bumper and tossed it off to the side, a loud clanking echoing throughout the garage. "Now what?"

Julia laid down next to him, wearing a white tshirt and blue overalls, and grabbed the WD-40 can. "Now we gotta remove the brackets."

She started spraying the bolts on the brackets before taking the socket wrench and undoing them. The bolts she placed in her magnetic bowl and the brackets she tossed to the side. Julia then grabbed a flat head screwdriver from her tool box and scooted over to one of the tires. She started unclipping the casings around the tire well and sighed once that was done.

"Now what are you doing?" Benoit asked, leaning on the car to look down at what she was doing.

"Now I'm taking the casing of the wheel well...and, uh, loosening part of it."

"Why?"

"So I can get to the screws down there that help hold the fender in place."

"Oh."

Julia finished up with that and looked around for her socket wrench. "Now where did that thing go?"

"What thing?"

"The socket wrench."

Benoit looked around the back. "It's right here," he said, picking it up.

"Good. Now, I'm gonna need you to take that one piece off and put a 10 millimeter size on it. Can you do that?" Benoit crouched down to her tool box and did as he was told. Just as he was doing that, Julia heard a horn honking outside. "Huh, wonder who that is?"

Julia got up and walked to the window of her garage door to take a peek. Her heart sank.

"Who is it?" Benoit asked.

Julia groaned and arched her head back. "It's Charles. What the fuck is he doing here?"

Julia watched as Charles came out of his car with a bouquet of daisies. Well, at least he remembered her favorite type of flower. She growled and pressed the garage door button. The door, with a squeak and a whine, started coming up. Julia put her hands in her overall pockets as she eyed Charles angrily, Benoit coming to stand beside her in his white tshirt and blue jeans.

"What do you want, Charles?" she barked out.

Charles held up a hand in surrender. "I just want to talk."

Benoit stood in front of Julia with a stern expression. "I do believe Miss Drysdale made it quite clear at the restaurant that she does not wish to speak to you, Mr. Drake."

Charles sighed. "I'm only asking for a few minutes of your time, Julia. You're gonna want to hear what I have to say."

Julia scoffed. "You're just lucky I haven't called the cops on you for violating the restraining order, Charles. Now please leave."

"Julia, this is important. Trust me," Charles pleaded.

"What's so god damn important?" she barked.

"It's about Alice."

Julia tilted her head to one side. Benoit turned and looked at Julia. She gave him a nod before Benoit looked back at Charles. "Alright, we're listening."

"I'd prefer if I could talk to Julia alone about this because I doubt you know what's really going on," Charles said with a determined look on his face. "Julia doesn't...just tell anybody about it."

Julia sighed and looked at Benoit. "Would you mind going inside, please?."

Benoit frowned. "But Julia..."

Julia raised her hand. "Babe, please?"

Benoit sighed and grabbed her hand, kissing it softly. "Okay."

Julia smiled and kissed his cheek before Benoit took one more glance at Charles. He shook his head and walked inside the house. Julia approached Charles and frowned.

"Okay, what about Alice?" she asked

* * *

_Julia, as a 16-year-old, was getting ready for school in her bedroom. She put on blue flare jeans and a red blouse before applying some make up and brushing her brown hair._

_"Jules, we're gonna be late for school if you don't stop primping yourself up like a hooker!" Ransom yelled outside her door._

_"Shut up, asshole!" she shouted._

_"Bitch!"_

_Julia cackled and opened the door, playfully glaring at her brother. "Dear brother mine, so testy..." she teased._

_Ransom smiled. "C'mon, we got things to do, people to bully, teachers to annoy..."_

_"Yes, yes," Julia said before grabbing her backpack. "Let's go."_

_They both raced down the stairs and out the door without saying goodbye to their parents as usual. Ransom and Julia approached Ransom's Beemer and Julia's '97 Honda._

_"Which car are we taking?" she asked._

_Ransom laughed. "The Beemer. Your car is an eyesore."_

_"It won't be when I'm done working on her."_

_"You still haven't found a name for her, huh?" Ransom asked, heading towards his car._

_"Nope, but I'll know it when I know."_

_They both got in the Beemer and drove off towards the school. It was only seven or eight minutes away from where they lived. Ransom pulled into the parking lot and turned the car off, smirking out his window. "Oh look at all the pickins we got today, Jules," he said, looking at all the uncool kids clattering about._

_Julia sighed. "You know, sometimes I feel bad for them with the way we treat them," she commented with a pout._

_Ransom looked at her with wide eyes. "You do?"_

_Suddenly Julia burst out laughing. "Hell no! They're all beneath us."_

_Ransom cackled and they both got out of the car, lugging their backpacks on their shoulders. Julia sighed, taking in the school grounds. Why their parents decided to send them to a public school, she'd never know. Something about "perspective" or whatever. As Ransom and Julia made their way up the steps, Ransom spotted a pimply red head, got behind him and yanked the kid's pants down. Julia pointed and laughed as the kid quickly pulled up his pants._

_"It's not funny!" the kid yelled, his voice cracking due to puberty setting in._

_"Hey, don't yell at my sister, punk," Ransom said, grabbing a hold of the kid's shirt. "Whatever your name is. Isn't it Cleetus or something?"_

_"Clint," the kid growled._

_"Julia!" a voice called out._

_Julia directed her attention away from Ransom to her friend, Kelly Heller. "Ah, Kelly!"_

_They walked to each other and kissed cheeks like the French do. Supposedly. "Darling, you look haggard. Have you eaten?" Kelly asked._

_Julia smiled and playfully shoved Kelly. "Been watching "The Birdcage" again?"_

_"Yes!" Kelly exclaimed as they both walked up the steps towards the school. "Nathan Lane and Robin Williams are such national treasures!"_

_Julia almost bumped into someone and snapped. "Watch where you're going!"_

_It was Alice Heller, Kelly's little sister. "Sorry, Julia. I didn't see you," she said bashfully._

_Julia sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You're lucky you're my best friend's sister, Alice. Otherwise I'd make your life a living hell for bumping into me."_

_The two best friends giggled and walked away to their classes._


	20. The Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

_"Why muscle cars?" Benoit inquired to Julia as they, along with Marta, Elliot and Wagner, walked on the trail in the direction of the house. "What is it about muscle cars that make you like them?"_

_Julia shrugged. "I guess I just like muscles."_

_Benoit barked out a laugh. "No, but seriously...why?"_

_"They look cool. And the way the engine sounds when you're driving...it's, um...well, I like it," Julia replied bashfully._

_"Like it how?"_

_Julia eyed Blanc and her cheeks started turning red. "Well, it's hard to describe without sounding...dirty."_

_Benoit raised a brow at her. "Dirty?"_

_They both stopped walking and Julia bit her lip, wringing her hands together. "Yeah. Dirty. Like...oh dear..."_

"She seems nervous," _Benoit thought_ _, paying close attention to her demeanor and actions._ "Why would she be nervous about...oh...sweet golly."

_"It's satisfyin' to hear the engine purr, so to speak?" Benoit guessed._

_"Yeah, that's one way of putting it," she said with a smile as they went back to walking. "Some people tend to romanticize it, you know. Actually, it was the perfect idea for me to write "Vintage Heaven"."_

_"Vintage Heaven? One of your books?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Miss Drysdale, if I were to pick out one of your books, which one would you recommend I read first?" Benoit asked out of the blue._

_Miss Drysdale gave him a deer in the headlights look. "One of my books? Oh, Detective, I never would have thought you were one for romance."_

_Benoit was a sucker for romance novels. Despite never finding the right woman to marry or have kids with, or really wanting to, he was a hopeless romantic at heart. He grinned artfully. "Yes, one of my sinful pleasures," he said barely above a whisper. "Don't tell anyone."_

_Julia bit her lip, looking at him like she was thrilled. "I won't...but you have more than one sinful pleasure?"_

_Blanc stared at her in shock, watching her face flush._ "Did she just flirt with me?" _he thought._

_Based on the look of horror on her face, he deduced it was an accident but he decided to flirt right back. With a playful smile, he replied, "yes. Do you have any?"_

_Her face flushed even more. "Well, yes. Doesn't everyone?" she said, clearing her throat and looking at him with eyes full of fright._

_"I would imagine so, yes," he said, looking away from her._

"I probably made the poor woman uncomfortable. Do not flirt with her again," _he thought._

_Miss Drysdale engaged in conversation briefly with Wagner about being a fan of her grandfather's books, then Elliot asked Benoit if they were out here because Benoit thought someone broke into the house and murdered Harlan._

_"Oh, it is unlikely, but if they did, there will be traces," Blanc responded._

_He started humming a tune as they went up the hill but he stopped when he noticed Julia sniffed at a crinkled up leaf. He squinted his eyes, rolled his head slightly to the side and made a soft grin as he watched her. The way her eyelashes fell against her cheeks when her eyes shut, the way her lips parted as she took in a breath through her nose, the soft smile on her lips...he couldn't help but stare and take it all in. Suddenly he came to his senses and shook his head to clear it._

_"Penny for your thoughts, Miss Drysdale?" he asked her._

_The dead, broken pieces of leaves slowly fell from her hands to the ground. "Was just thinking about when I was a kid and my brother and I played in piles of leaves."_

_"Ah. Speakin' of, do you think he'll come to the will reading today?"_

_"I don't know. Since he's out of the will, he might want to avoid the embarassment of it," she said, shoving her hands into her coat pockets. "Then again, he's a cocky little shit. I doubt this would have knocked his ego down at all. Not yet, at least."_

_Benoit started laughing as he threw his head back. "_ _You're not a fan of your brother, are you?"_

_"No one is. He may be my twin, but...well, he's always been an asshole, but it wasn't always his dominant trait," she explained._

_"I see. Were you two close as children?" Blanc asked curiously._

_"Oh, absolutely. I'm afraid to say that I, too, was an asshole as a kid and we both thrived off each other."_

_The detective glanced at her in disbelief. "No! Really?"_

_"Oh yeah," Julia laughed as her head bowed. "I was_ awful _."_

_"What changed?" he asked._

_She stopped and Benoit stopped too, noticing the sudden change in her body language. She became extremely tense and kept staring at the ground with a sad face. He'd hit a nerve and he frowned._

_"Miss Drysdale?"_

_"...I suppose I grew out of it," she said suddenly in a meek tone._

_From the look in her eyes when she was finally able to look at him, Blanc knew there was more to it than just "growing out of it". Still, he wasn't going to pry in Miss Drysdale's past. He was only interested in the present. Actually, that was a big fat lie. He wanted to know everything about this woman, but he would not press the issue._

_"Hmm," was his only response as they went back to walking._

* * *

Julia crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at Charles, waiting for him to speak. "You have my attention."

Charles looked behind her at Wrex. "What the hell? Your car!"

Julia pivoted to look behind her then looked back at Charles. "Yeah. Wrex has been through the ringer this past week."

Charles bypassed her and walked to the Charger. "I know how much you love your cars, but damn, you must be pissed!"

Julia rolled her eyes and walked to him. "Excuse me, you were going to tell me about Alice?"

Charles frowned at her. "No," he scratched the back of his head, "I only said that so you'd talk to me."

Julia's jaw went slack. "Excuse me?!"

Charles held out the bouquet as if to guard himself from a physical blow. "Look, just hear me out, okay?"

Julia growled and smacked the bouquet out of his hands, the flowers falling to the floor. "What the _fuck_ is wrong with you, Charles?!"

Charles sighed. "Listen. I've been thinking you and I should...try to work things out. I miss you, Julia."

Julia scoffed and laughed bitterly. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"I made stupid mistakes, I fucked up, I know that. Just..." Charles took a step forward, "just give me another chance. Please."

Julia took a step back from him. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm with someone else now, Charles!"

"Yeah? And who is he to you, exactly?" Charles bellowed loudly.

"He's the man I'm in love with!" Julia shouted. "He makes me happy, he treats me like a goddess, and he's a selfless, fascinating man that might actually want to give me children one day, so get the fu-"

Charles took a step forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. "I want children with you!"

Julia blinked at him madly. "What?! _Now_ you want children?!"

"As long as I have them with you, then yes!"

Julia tried to shove him off but he wouldn't let go. "Get off of me, Charles!"

"Julia, please," Charles pleaded sadly. "I know I messed up, just give me a chance to make it up to you. I still love you."

Julia kept trying to shove him off. "I said get off me!"

Charles moved in closer, grasped each side of her head and pressed his mouth to hers. Julia was still trying to fight him off when all of a sudden, the man was yanked away from her and tossed to the floor.

"Get off her!" Benoit shouted angrily.

Charles quickly got up and charged Benoit, and soon the two were fighting each other. Julia instantly got out of the way and watched in horror as Charles landed a punch to Benoit's jaw, but Benoit was quick to recover, dodged another swing and punched Charles in the ribs. Charles hunched over, looking about ready to vomit so Benoit took this opportunity to shove him out of the garage onto the driveway. Benoit backed up and pressed the close button on the garage door.

"You stay the hell away from her, do you understand me?!" Benoit yelled.

Charles slowly got up and wobbled to the garage door but it shut before he could get inside. "I'm gonna call my lawyer and your ass is gonna go to jail!" Charles yelled, though it was a bit muffled.

"I would love to see you try, asshole!" Benoit bellowed out.

Julia gulped, trembling from the adrenaline rush that was now leaving her body as Charles was seen walking to his car. Benoit immediately turned and walked to Julia, holding her face in his hands. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Julia sighed, trying to get her body to calm down. "I'm fine. No, he didn't hurt me." She gently stroked his jaw where Charles punched him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I will be fine," he replied with a grin as he looked her over once more. "You are sure he did not hurt you? You are shakin' like a leaf, chickapen."

"It's just the adrenaline, I'm okay."

Benoit frowned and pulled her into a hug. Julia buried her face into his chest and breathed in his scent to help herself chill out. It had a calming effect on her and soon she was no longer shaking.

"That bastard...I cannot believe he kissed you," Benoit growled, rubbing a hand up and down her arm.

"That's Charles for you. Doesn't know when to quit."

"Well, we should alert the authorities about him violatin' his restrainin' order," Benoit suggested in a strict voice. "That'll make him quit for sure."

Julia nodded. She'd had enough of Charles' bullshit. "Yeah, I better do that."

* * *

_Benoit smiled down at Miss Drysdale as she was petting one of the dogs. He'd almost forgotten that the pathway footprints had been contaminated by Marta and the dogs. As she scratched the dog down, Benoit put his hands in his coat pockets, grinning down at her._

_"Best judge of character is a dog. I've found that to be true."_

_Miss Drysdale caught his gaze and smiled up at him. "Yes, and these two are the best dogs I know."_

_Benoit watched her face as the dogs ran off. She looked disappointed._ "How could she and Marta be responsible for Harlan's death? They are both too good for their own...good," _he thought._ "It doesn't make sense. None of this does."

_He saw Miss Drysdale make a sneer and cross her arms so Benoit directed his attention to Mr. and Mrs. Drysdale who looked happy as can be._

_"Still hasn't told her, huh?" Benoit observed to Miss Drysdale._

_"No, I suppose that's his sinful pleasure. Having an affair," she said in disgust._

_Benoit chortled a bit. "You still haven't told me yours, you know."_

_She looked at him as he gave her a roguish grin. She smirked all of a sudden. "That's my little secret, Detective."_

_"But I told you mine."_

_She lifted her chin up, a devilish smirk appearing on her face. "Does that mean I'm obligated to tell you mine?"_

_Blanc scratched the back of his head and looked at the ground before glancing at her. "No, I suppose not," he chuckled._

_"That's not to say I won't ever tell you," she spoke with a wink._

"Did she just flirt with me? Or was that my imagination?"

_Blanc took a step closer to her, deciding to flirt with her once more. "Well, I look forward to havin' light shed on your secret...if you ever decide to inform me of what it is."_

_He watched her nibble on her lip and he groaned internally._ "Lord, I wish she would stop doin' that. It literally drives me insane when she does it." _But it was in a good way that it drove him insane. Hence, why he wanted her to stop._

_"Benoit?"_

_Elliot said to get his attention._ _"Hmm?" Benoit asked as he turned to Elliot. "Yes?"_

_"They've got plans to read the will at 10:00 so the whole family will be here soon," Elliot said as he hopped over the muddy path._

_"Your first name is Benoit?" Miss Drysdale asked._

_Blanc looked at her sheepishly. "Yes. Yes it is."_

_Julia ahemed. "I like it. You don't hear a name like that every day."_

_This made him smile. "Thank you."_

_She tucked hair behind her ear, a shy smiled forming on her lips before walking away to join Marta's side. The two started talking and Benoit caught bits and pieces of the conversation as he followed them._

_"...flirting with him?" Marta asked._

_"...I...yes?" Julia replied, sounding confused._ _This made Benoit smile again._

_So she_ was _flirting with him._

_"...should be doing that?"_

_"No...can't seem to help myself."_

_"Why?"_

_Miss Drysdale looked over her shoulder at the detective and gave him a small wave before looking back at Marta. "...man is_ gorgeous _._

 _"_ _The detective felt his cheeks heat up._ "She thinks I'm gorgeous?" _he thought to himself._

_"Be that...keep your distance," Marta warned._

_"I know...coffee with him..." Julia said._

_"...happen?"_

_"...the diners in town...happened to be there too."_

_"...waffles?"_

_He heard Julia giggle as he got a little closer to them. "Yes...ate like a pig...adorable, apparently."_

_"Julia, this is serious...we could...very man...send us."_

_Benoit got even closer._

_"I know, but the man is so handsome, I can't seem to help myself."_

_"He makes you impulsive. That's not a good thing."_

_Benoit got directly behind them with a smile. "Who makes you impulsive?" he asked, knowing full well who they were discussing._

_They both jolted and whirled around. Miss Drysdale looked as if she'd been caught red handed. "Nobody," she squeaked._

_"Uh huh. You two havin' a ladies talk, huh? No men allowed?" he joked with a smile._

_"Right," Marta said nervously. "No men allowed._ _Anyway, I've never been to a will reading."_

_Benoit made a face of discontent, but only for a moment. "Oh, well," he said, hands in his coat pockets, "you think it'd be like a game show, but think of a community theater production of a tax return," he said as they circled the house._

_"I'm gonna write that down," he heard Miss Drysdale say._

_"You gonna quote me on that?" Blanc asked._

_"Maybe. Do I need to quote you to have it in my book?"_

_He looked back at her with a bright smile as she was still writing. "It would be my utmost pleasure if I was in your book, Miss Drysdale," he said._

_"So what are we looking for?" Marta asked._

_"Oh, you know," he said as he crouched down by the trellis. "Anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. You'll know it when you see it."_

_He crouched there, looking around at the trellis, trying to spot anything that didn't look right. Not finding much, he stood up and looked at the window, nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw Mrs. Thrombey staring at him._

_"Sweet beans!" he exclaimed, looking at her intently. "Well, good morning, Mrs. Thrombey."_

* * *

Julia ended the call with a sigh. "Well, that's taken care of," she said, looking back at her car.

She needed to have the broken windows replaced too. Poor Wrex. He didn't deserve this kind of treatment.

"The police will do somethin' about Mr. Drake, I'm sure of it," Benoit said.

Julia nodded and glanced at Benoit. "Well, let's get back to it, if you want," she suggested, picking up the bouquet of daisies and throwing them in the trash.

The couple continued working on Wrex, replacing the dented fenders, fixing the lock on the trunk, taking a 2x4 and a rubber hammer to the trunk to uncrinkle it, and replacing the brake lights and bumper. It took a good portion of the day to get done and when they were finished, both their clothes were covered in grease and dust, as were their hands, arms and faces.

"We should take a shower," Julia said.

Benoit smiled at her deviously and wrapped his arms around her. "Together?" he asked.

Julia giggled at him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Yes, we can do that..."

Benoit grabbed her hand and rushed to the house door, making Julia giggle.

* * *

_"Where's your medical bag?" the detective asked Marta as he waved his fingers in the air._

_"I don't know. I left it here, I always leave it here with Harlan at night," she replied._

_Wagner suggested that the cops took it as evidence and went to go check on it, his footsteps making creaks and squeaks as he walked down the stairs. Benoit noted how loud the steps really were. He hummed and looked at the two women._

_"Shit. How'd the Go board get knocked over again? Harlan pretended there was an earthquake?" he asked them, making his way to where the Go board was._

_"Yes," Julia said with a giggle. "Old man was always so playful and carefree."_

_"What are you thinking?" Marta asked the detective._

_Benoit, bending down at the waist, looked at the board before lifting it and knocking it to the floor. It clattered softly._

"Hmm, strange. This was definitely not loud enough to alert Joni," _he thought._ "No, something much larger had to have fallen. A person, maybe? Harlan himself? One of the girls? Either way, these women lied to me for sure."

_Benoit frowned, feeling disappointed in Miss Drysdale and Miss Cabrera. Mostly with Miss Drysdale, though. He wished she'd tell him the truth, yet at the same time, he wished to delay it as much as possible. He very much liked spending time with her._

_Dogs barking and the sound of a car drew Benoit's attention and he went to the window, seeing a man in a light brown overcoat get out of a Beemer. The dogs surrounded him and he started kicking his legs at them._

_"No! No no no! Hey! Hey! Hey!" the man yelled._

_"Oh, let me guess," Benoit said while Miss Drysdale came up to him._

_She laughed lightly. "Yes. My dear brother mine."_

_"Hey! Stop. Stop," Ransom ordered._

_Miss Drysdale leaned her head out the window. "Oh, go on boys! Give Ransom a kiss!"_

_"Don't you encourage them, Jules! I mean it!" Ransom shouted at his sister._

_Miss Drysdale laughed loudly and started making kissing noises. "Zeus! Sabre! Kill!"_

_Benoit had to fight back his laughter as Ransom was now stuck between his car and the dogs. "Julia! Stop it!"_

_Miss Drysdale cackled loudly and huffed. "It's not like they know how to kill people, Ransom. Geez, calm down. Boys, off!"_

_Benoit was surprised that Julia had control over the dogs as they stopped their barking and finally left Ransom alone. Marta and the detective laughed a bit as Julia leaned back and giggled._

_He moved closer to her. "You always tease your brother like that?" he inquired curiously._

_With a glance over her shoulder and an impish grin, she merely said, "every chance I get."_

_The detective smiled brightly at her._ "I hate myself for it but I love this woman," _he thought._

_Marta cleared her throat and the two people gazed at her. "Right," Benoit said. "Ladies, let's head down."_

* * *

Julia and Benoit stripped off their dirty clothing and she started the shower with a squeak and a hiss. Once it was a pleasant tenperature, she popped in with Benoit close behind her, then she grabbed a loofah and squeezed body wash into it. As she began scrubbing the grease off her arms, Benoit wrapped his arms around her from behind, pecking her shoulder with kisses. She giggled and began scrubbing her face. Soon she was done and she rinsed all the soap off. She turned and handed him the loofah.

"Your turn."

Benoit smiled, squeezed body wash into the loofah and began washing all the grease off his body and face. He rinsed it off and Julia was about to turn off the shower when he grasped her wrist, looking at her with dark eyes.

"Bad boy's comin' out," he uttered.

She giggled happily and continued scrubbing. "Is he going to behave this time?"

"I am not certain."

With a chuckle and a gasp, Julia turned around and looked down at his erect penis. "My my," she said. "Somebody's awake."

Benoit laughed with a nod. "Uh huh."

Julia suddenly had an idea and she leaned in, kissing his ear lobe. "You can jerk off if you want to," she cooed.

She backed up a little to see the shocked look on his face. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yes. I want to watch you...like you got to watch me," she muttered, dropping the loofah and leaning her back on the shower wall. "Please?"

He smiled at her, took his hand and started teasing the head of his member slowly. Julia watched as he leaned his head back and shut his eyes. As she chuckled, she raised a foot to settle on the edge of the tub, started teasing a breast with one hand and let her other hand wander to her slit. As she began playing with herself, Benoit started to stroke his shaft.

"Look at me, Benoit," she whispered.

He opened his eyes and gazed at her, his eyes going darker as he watched her masterbate. Julia turned the water off as he went on his knees to get a better look at her. He continued stroking himself while she swirled her fingers on her bundle of nerves, looking down at him with hooded eyes. Her other fingers kept playing with her nipple and she bit her lower lip, moaning every so often. As she dipped a finger inside herself, Benoit growled and smiled at her.

"You are such a little minx," he said breathlessly, still jerking his shaft.

Julia giggled and gasped with a moan. "I bet your bad boy is such an animal," she uttered.

Benoit got close enough to breath on her thighs and it made Julia twitch with excitement. Soft, butterfly kisses were placed on her stomach and inner thighs, making her raise her head back. It felt so good to feel his mouth on her and she wished he would just take her already or at least eat her out, but she knew he wouldn't.

Not until the fourth or fifth date.

Julia pulled her finger out and held it in front of Benoit. "Would you like a taste?"

He took his mouth and sucked on her finger, groaning in delight. "You taste so good," he groaned.

He stroked himself harder and faster while Julia reinserted the finger, swirling it around inside her. She took her other hand and dragged it down to let her fingertips knead her clit, then she inserted a second finger and started pushing them in and out. Benoit's eyes rolled back before he bit her inner thigh, his cheek grazing her hand.

Julia went faster and harder with both hands and her moans got louder as she felt her pleasure rise. "Oh Benoit...I'm gonna cum soon," she groaned as she stared down at him, making eye contact with him.

Benoit stared up at her with a love sick smile before standing up and kissing her softly. "Cum for me, Julia."

Julia's chest began to heave a bit and soon her orgasm hit her, drawing out a loud couple of moans and gasps from her mouth. Benoit grabbed her hand and suckled in the fingers that were inside her, his hand moving quickly along his cock. Julia looked down to watch him, and within a few minutes his seed spilled out onto her stomach as he moaned a few times breathlessly. She took a finger, swirled it around on her stomach to gather some of his cum, and lifted it to taste him.

"Mmm, salty," she said softly.

Benoit chuckled and pressed his forehead to hers. "You are so amazing, Julia."

She giggled and placed her hands on his shoulders. "So are you, Detective. The most amazing man I've ever known."

She turned around and turned the shower back on, the water hitting them both. Julia rubbed off his semen from her tummy and watched it go down the drain.

"Oh look, all your children died," she joked.

Benoit laughed loudly. "That is so wrong, Julia."

"What can I say? I have a morbid sense of humor at times."

Julia shut the water off again and they both stepped out, grabbing towels to dry themselves off.


	21. Miss Drysdale

_"Funny, Ransom. You skipped the funeral but you're early for the will reading," Walt said bitterly._

_"Shit, here we go," Benoit heard Julia say._

_Blanc glanced at her. "What's wrong?"_

_Julia sighed as people started arguing. "You're about to witness the prologue to the tax return theater production."_

_Benoit snorted a little with amusement as he looked at the family. "You wanna skip this part of the play?"_

_With a smile and a giggle, Julia glanced at him. "_ _Would_ you _like to skip it?"_

_Benoit smiled at her. "Might miss somethin' important, but...might be worth missin' if I'm skipping it with you," he flirted._

_He saw her mouth go agape and he smirked._ "I love catchin' her off guard," _he thought._

 _"So_ that's _where you were all nigjt," Joni said, making Benoit look out at the small crowd._

_"What the hell were you doing in the bathroom all night?" Richard asked in confusion._

_"Nothing," Jacob said softly with a touch of embarassment in his voice._

_"Swatting Syrian refugees?" Meg asked him with insulting sarcasm dripping in her tone._

_"No, I was not," Jacob replied indignantly._

_"Alt-right troll."_

_"Liberal snowflake."_

_"I don't know what any of that means," Walt spoke, sounding puzzled._

_"It means your son's a little creep," Richard pointed out._

_"Oh! My son's a creep?"_

_Benoit took another glance at Julia, admiring her features. He looked her body up and down as the family continued talking._ "I wonder if she works out. Sweet beans! Where did that come from?" _he thought angrily as he cleared his throat and looked back at the Thrombeys and Drysdales._

_"Joylessly masterbating to dead dear," Richard said about Jacob._

_Benoit arched a brow._ "What is this family?"

_"Dad!" Julia barked._

_"You know what, Richard?" Walt said, grabbing the head of his cane. "You wanna go?" he threatened._

_"You bet, skippy, let's go!" Richard replied._

_"You wanna go?"_

_"Come on!"_

_Benoit had to suppress a laugh as the two men cornered each other and started fighting by slapping their hands at each other. Donna, Walt's wife, tried to stop them both._

_"Detective Blanc, I give you the Thrombeys and the Drysdales," Julia said quietly but loud enough for the detective to hear._

_As he chortled, Blanc removed his glasses, cleaning them with a cloth. "I must inquire how you were raised in this family and ended up...how you are," he said gently._

_"How I am?" she asked, still looking at her uncle and father fighting._

_"Yes. Kind hearted."_

_"Granddad's influence, I guess," she replied._

_"Hmm."_

_Linda got up from her seat and pointed at the bickering men as they walked away from each other. "Hey!" she yelled, then she directed her finger at Jacob. "Jacob, we know where this is going. You were in the bathroom next to Harlan's office where he had the fight with Ransom. Now, you heard something. Spill it," Linda demanded._

_Benoit directed his attention to Jacob who looked a little frightened. "I just heard two things. "My will", and then there was more yelling, and then I heard Ransom say, "I'm warning you"."_

_Benoit looked at Ransom who slowly put a cookie in his mouth, looking at Jacob with a "you little shit bag" kind of expression on his face._

_"Ransom? What's that mean?" Linda asked._

_"I think it means our father finally came to his senses and cut this worthless little brat out of his will," Richard said, approaching Ransom slowly and leaning down near him. "So I guess you're gonna have to sell the Beemer and give your notice at the country club and kick whatever fashion drug you're on because if you think that after all the bridges you've burned, after all the shit you said, after everything that you put this family through for the last ten years, that any of us are gonna support you, that any of us are gonna give you, like Dad liked to say, a single red dime,_ you're nuts!"

_Just then, Julia threw up her hands and walked away. Blanc watched her exit the back porch and he frowned before looking back at the scene before him._

_"Son," Richard said after quiet filled the room._

_Ransom arched a brow at Richard. "Father," he mocked._

_Richard sighed. "Did Harlan tell you he was gonna cut you out of the will?"_

_Ransom calmly tossed up his hands, smacked them on his legs, and said, "yep" with a lip pop._

_Benoit considered this in his head and turned, walking towards the back porch doors to go find Julia._ _She was much better company anyway. He exited the house and found her in the outer area of the porch, shifting around to look at him._

_"Well, that was quite a prologue," he joked._

_"Yeah, no kidding," Miss Drysdale laughed._

_He went to the railing and leaned his arms on it, staring out at the large yard. "Well, your brother confessed. He's been severed from the will. He did not seem too beat up about it, however."_

_She cocked her head as she looked at him. "Really?"_

_"He was cheerful as a cherub, in fact," he commented, wondering why that was._

_Miss Drysdale had informed him that he either might be upset or that his ego would not be bruised in the slightest. Still, Blanc found young Ransom's behavior rather odd, if not offensive._

_Miss Drysdale's eyes went wide as she pulled out her little notebook. "I need to write that one down."_

_Benoit noticed her tongue sticking out to one side as she wrote. He chuckled, finding that particular quirk endearing. "It pleases me that I can be your muse, Miss Drysdale," he said, getting closer to watch her write._

_He saw her sniff and pause her writing. What did she smell just now? "Yeah, me too," she said as she pocketed her notebook._

_"Do you often take inspiration from your surroundings?"_

_Miss Drysdale cocked her head to the side. "Yes, though I must say you really do strike up a lot of it."_

_A smile appeared on his face. "It would appear so."_

_Their eyes met and Benoit suppressed a gulp. She really was quite beautiful. He had an urge to cup her face but he ignored it._ "She is a suspect, remember that, Blanc."

_"A Mirror's Reflection," she sputtered out._

_"I beg your pardon?" he asked, sounding puzzled._

_"That's the book I recommend you read first, Detective."_

_"Oh? What's it about?"_

_"It's about a woman whose life gets taken over by her reflection. They switch places and she's forced to watch her life pass by from the mirror's side."_

_This interested Blanc greatly. "That sure sounds like a good read."_

_Julia shifted her body, facing him as she leaned against the railing of the porch. "Oh, it was one of my favorites to write."_

_Blanc also shifted to reflect her body position. "Any other favorites?"_

_"Well, I do have a drama trilogy. "The Cold and Damp", "The Candle's Light," and "Helping the Aries". Those were fun to write. It's about a female doctor and she falls in love with a police officer who was involved in a horrible accident and he has to stay in the hospital for months."_

_"Those also sound like a good read. You must be a very talented individual."_

_She smiled and bowed her head. "You say that now, but if you actually read 'em, you'll see how cheesy they are."_

_"Well, I must confess," he began as he took his glasses off and studied them before looking at her, "I do enjoy cheese."_

_Miss Drysdale smiled. "You must be a romantic."_

_"Oh, I am completely and utterly hopeless," he joked._

_"Is that so?"_

_"Mmhmm."_

_Blanc stared into her eyes._ "Don't even think about kissing her. She is a suspect."

_But he was thinking it anyway. He could pull her into his arms and kiss her right now, but that would be rude not to ask for her permission first. And furthermore, she was a suspect in the case he was investigating. It would be highly inappropriate. Still, it didn't stop him from imagining how soft her lips must be._ _It also didn't deter him from thinking about her and Marta's conversation earlier, the one he heard bits and pieces from. How Miss Drysdale thought the detective was gorgeous and how he made her impulsive. He hadn't imagined that and he knew it. Therefore, ergo...Julia Drysdale was attracted to him._

_That thought enthralled him to his core._ "I want her."

_This was unlike him, not to be thinking straight, even when a woman was involved. Why did this one make him burn with need on the inside? What the hell was happening to him? This wasn't him at all to be thinking this way about a woman he only met yesterday._

_"Detective Blanc, I...um..."_

_"Yes?"_ _he asked, wanting nothing more than to hold her in his arms and kiss her based on how she was looking at him._

"I need her."

_"I...forgot what I was going to say," she whimpered._

"I _love_ her."

_They were so close to one another, Benoit would only have to move a few more inches to make their lips touch. When had they gotten in such close proximity? The scent of coconut filling his nose was driving him insane on the inside._

"How is she doing this to me?" _he thought._

_Benoit heard the porch doors slam open and he instantly backed up from her, looking quite surprised when he saw Marta walking towards them. He came back to his senses although he was still severely unsettled by what had just occurred._

"Woa, that was too close."

_"What was that about will readings being boring?" Marta asked Benoit._

_He ahemed, trying to get a hold of himself. "The exception that proves the rule," he replied as he grabbed a baseball from his pocket and gently threw it into the air._

_The doors opened once more. This time it was the housekeeper storming out, calling someone an "asshole" as she left the porch._

_She must've been talking about Ransom._

_Hmm, Ransom. That boy made his inner detective senses tingle._

_""I'm warning you"," the detective repeated. "Ransom said, "I'm warning you"."_

"There is something about that kid. I don't know what it is, but I _will_ get to the bottom of it," _he thought._

_"Well, you heard Ransom in there. That's the kind of thing he says."_

_In his thoughts, Blanc only just then noticed one of the dogs sniffing and whining at the ball in his hand._

_"You want this? You want this?" he asked softly, tossing the ball towards the grass and watching the dog chase after it._

_Blanc looked down and spotted an object on the floor. He scrunched down his brow and bent down to pick it up._

_"What do we have here?" he said out loud._

"This looks a lot like the trellis." _His head lifted._ "The trellis."

_He swiftly moved off the porch, almost forgetting about the women behind him. This was a clue about the night Harlan died, he just knew it as he raced to the trellis._

_"This looks like a relatively fresh break," he observed as he looked up at the trellis, spotting the part that was broken. He pointed. "Yep. Right there." His eyes searched around for anything when he spotted a window. Strange. He didn't remember seeing that window when he was upstairs earlier. "Wait a minute. Well, that doesn't make sense? Where's that window?"_

_Blanc went jogging onto the porch, the broken trellis piece still in hand as he ran inside and raced up the stairs. He barely registered that the family was still arguing amongst themselves. Once on the second floor, Benoit almost stumbled trying to stay off the carpet._

_"Show me, but stay off the carpet," he told Marta._

_Marta jumped to one side then walked to the end of the wall, pulling it open to show a window._

_"It's the trick window from "A Kill For All Seasons"," Wagner said with glee._

_Benoit got to the floor and grabbed his small magnifying glass. Eh, traces of dried mud. I suspect they go the length of the hallway."_

_"Footprints?" Marta asked._

_"No, just traces," Benoit said, briefly spotting more dried mud on the windowsill._

_"Yeah, depending on when this thing was last cleaned, this could have happened at any time, right?" Elliot surmised._

_"No, that would not explain this," Benoit said as he got up and pointed to the window sill. "Analyze that mud," he said, pointing at Elliot._

_He spotted Miss Drysdale wringing her hands and he frowned. He noted earlier that she did that when nervous. Was she the one who climbed up here? He suspected so. He briefly looked at Marta who didn't seem as worried. Benoit looked out the window for a moment and sighed._

"Miss Drysdale came up the trellis that night, I'm almost certain of it," _he thought._ "Damn."

_He looked at everyone else. "And you will find similar samples leadin' up the trellis on the outside of the house. On the night of the party, somebody who did not want to be heard climbing up those steps," he gestured in the direction of the stairs before lowering his hand, "went to a great deal of trouble to break into Harlan Thrombey's rooms," he deduced while looking right at Miss Drysdale. "The game is afoot, eh Watson?"_

_She nodded at him. "So it would seem, Detective," she replied._

"Oh Julia...what did you do, my dear girl?" _he thought._ "I must definitely keep my distance from her."

_"Let's go downstairs and keep off the carpet, Miss Cabrera," he said before walking on the hardwood floor and following Wagner and Elliot down the stairs._

_He never spared Miss Drysdale a glance. Not once, not even when they got to the foot of the stairs or when they went into the parlour to await the family for the will reading. He did his utmost to avoid her at this point. He had to distance himself from her. It was for the best. He suspected he would be arresting her sometime soon._

_But what about Ransom? There was still something off about his behavior that didn't sit right with the detective._

""I'm warning you"," _he thought._ "Him being so happy earlier, too. I do not get it. It makes no sense. Oof, this case is the highest of difficulties to figure out. One central piece that would explain everything, and yet I cannot find it. Where is that piece?"

_"It isn't legally necessary, but I thought because you're all in town, and some of you are leaving soon..."_

_Benoit took a step forward and stopped Alan from continuing. "Excuse me. Um, I'm sorry. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to gently request that y'all stay in town until the investigation is completed."_

_"Yeah, well, he's gently requesting but I'm gonna have to make that an order. No one move until we figure this all out," Elliot stated._

_"What?" Linda snarked._

_"Can we ask why? Has something changed?" asked Joni curiously._

_"No," Benoit responded._

_"No, it hasn't changed? Or no, we can't ask?"_

_The detective chose to ignore that question. "Uh, Mr. Stevens, you may continue," the detective said, taking a step back._

_As Alan talked to the family about the will, Benoit kept mulling over in his head the facts. Miss Drysdale was definitely seen leaving at midnight. Did she come back, perhaps? How would she know to avoid the cameras? Oh of course she knew. She probably knows this estate like the back of her hand. Still, this case was still missing an important piece of information. Also, earlier, Julia had stated she was behind Marta when leaving while Marta claimed the exact opposite. Why would those two confuse that with each other?_

_"Did you really tell Harlan to keep you out of the will?" he heard Marta ask._

_"Yeah. I'm not that much of a millionaire, but my own money is more than enough for me," Miss Drysdale replied quietly._

_Benoit shifted around slightly to look at her and their eyes met. Why would she murder Harlan if she didn't want his money? And how could someone as kind and sweet and charming as her do such a thing? Benoit had good instincts about people and while he knew that Miss Drysdale had partaken in some part of Harlan Thrombey's death, he very much doubted that she could kill her own grandfather. She had obviously loved him. Benoit turned away to look at Alan._

"Maybe he did commit suicide and she and Miss Cabrera just happened to witness it. But why climb up the trellis and break in? Why?" _he thought._

_"Are you upset that Ransom got cut from the will?" he heard Marta whisper._

_He also heard a snort come from Miss Drysdale and he smirked a little. "Hell no. In my opinion, this'll be good for him. Learning to fend for himself."_

_"Will you be there to help him if he needs it?"_

_"...Maybe. I dunno. He is my twin, after all."_

"Maybe she murdered him because she wasn't happy that he severed Ransom from his inheritance. No, that is not right either. Why would she lie about that just now? And why should she help her brother? He's an asshole. Well, perhaps she is very much like her grandfather and is just that generous," _Benoit thought._

_Was he just making excuses for Miss Drysdale because he didn't want to believe she had something to do with Harlan's demise? It was quite possible. Who would want to believe someone they loved would be capable of murder?_

_"I hereby direct that all my assets, liquid and otherwise, I leave in their entirety to...Marta Cabrera."_

_Benoit shifted his gaze to Alan._ "What did he say?" _he thought in shock._

_"My entire ownership of Blood Like Wine publishing, I leave in its entirety to Marta Cabrera, the copyright of its catalogue I leave in its entirety to Marta Cabrera."_

_Benoit turned and looked at Marta in disbelief. Based on the look on her face, and Julia's, he doubted they knew about any of it. He turned back around to see the family arguing with Alan about the will._

_"Aren't there safeguards against this?" someone asked._

_"Right, right. Something..."_

_"Alan, he was on medication in his final days."_

_Benoit was very shocked indeed at this development. He looked over at Ransom who was laughing his head off and leaving the room. Linda's voice suddenly rose in volume and Benoit was now going to witness the woman's temper. As the woman yelled at the cops and Richard, Benoit was a little disgusted with her._

_Yes, Julia's temper was much more attractive._

_"We are the Thrombeys, god dammit. This is stil our house!" Linda shouted._

"Oh no..." _Benoit thought._

_Everyone turned to Alan and his assistant motioned to a piece of paper. "Hmm? Oh, sorry," Alan said as he picked up the paper. ""Likewise the house at 2 Deerborn Drive and all belongings therein, I leave to Marta Cabrera."_

_Benoit heard a snort behind him and glanced at Miss Drysdale. She was holding her mouth, her eyes full of restrained laughter. "Julia, this isn't funny!" Marta gasped._

_"Oh, you little bitch! You little bitch!"_

_Benoit swirled around to see Linda walking towards Marta, her finger pointing and her eyes raging. Uh oh. As Linda was yelling at Marta and Richard was holding her back, Benoit saw Julia stand in front of Marta to defend her and he smirked._

_"Mom, back off! This is not her fault!" Julia yelled at her mother._

_The detective backed up to stay by Marta and Julia's side._

_"Did you know about this? Were you in on this from the beginning? No no no, I just wanna know what were you, what were you doing?!" Linda yelled as Richard held her back. "Were you boinking my father?!"_

_"Mother!" Julia snapped. Benoit looked at them as Miss Drysdale held out her hand to Marta while the yelling continued. "Marta, I think you need to go before they kill you."_

_Benoit held his hands up, trying his best to levee the crowd. "I think everybody just needs to cool their jets," he said to them all._

_"Everyone SHUT UP!" Miss Drysdale screamed. The detective looked at her with his mouth parted. "What the hell is wrong with all of you? Especially you, Mother!" Julia gestured a finger at Linda. "Don't you think that if Granddad had told Marta about this, that Marta would have spoken up?! Of course she would have! This is Marta we're talking about! She's innocent in all this!"_

_Benoit Blanc could not be more proud of the woman defending Marta...or more in love with her as he once again got to witness the fire in her eyes._

_However, everyone went back to yelling and Benoit palmed his hands up again. "Hold your horses," he said before grabbing Marta by the shoulders. "And in the meantime, I'd maybe run," he said to Marta._

_Julia reached for Marta's hand and went running out to the front door with her._

_"Wait, wait, wait, wait, Marta?"_

_Benoit turned around and blocked everyone to give the two girls a head start. "Ladies and gentlemen, please," he said._

_"Marta, talk to us!" Joni called out._

_However, he wasn't able to hold them back as they overwhelmed him and got him out of the way. Joni was the first one out. Benoit watched as the family swarmed themselves around Marta's car. He could barely distinguish Julia's voice from the others._

_"Lock the doors! You're scaring her, stop it!" Julia looked around, at a loss, until Blanc saw her brother in his Beemer and she went running over. "Ransom, get her out of here!" she pleaded._

_Ransom drove around and honked his horn. Julia defended Marta physically by holding her family back while Marta switched cars, then Ransom drove off while yelling, "I think this could be the best thing to happen to all of you!"_

_Benoit blinked in confusion as he watched Julia cover her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh. That brave woman just saved Marta's behind from getting overwhelmed by a horrible family. And now she was laughing about it?_

_"What does he mean by that?" Richard asked Walt._

_Suddenly Julia started cackling loudly, holding herself up by leaning on Marta's car. As Linda yelled at her daughter and Julia explained why it was all so funny, Benoit frowned. Had she known about the will change?_

_"Did you know about this?" Walt asked her._

_"No, of course not! I didn't have a clue!" Julia defended._

_More arguing ensued as Julia kept laughing, and soon she was left alone as the family clamored back into the house. She looked at Benoit who was giving her a stern look. He wasn't sure why she'd been laughing about any of this. He watched her yank out her book and walk away. Obviously she found inspiration for her book._

_He had questions._

_Benoit jogged off the stairs, onto the gravel path and onto the grass to follow her. When he caught up to her, he wasn't even out of breath._

_"Did you know about this?"_

_She dropped her things and turned around, looking shocked. "No. I swear I didn't."_

_"Hmm." Oddly enough, he believed her. He crouched down and collected her things before standing and holding them out to her. "You dropped these."_

_She thanked him and put her stuff back into her coat pocket. He welcomed her and cleared his throat, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Hell of a play, eh Watson?"_

_"Yes, very much so," she said with a snort and a giggle._

_Benoit decided he needed to unnerve her into telling him the truth. Perhaps she would be honest with him now. At least about some things. He hmmed and walked around her, scratching his eyebrow. "There's still something I don't know."_

_"Oh yeah? What's that?"_

_He inched closer behind her. "What's your secret?"_

_He knew she had one. He desperately wanted to know. He needed to wrap up this case and get the hell away from her and forget all about her. Still...something told him he would never forget Miss Drysdale. Not by a long shot._

_"My secret?"_

_"Yes. Your sinful pleasure," he answered._

"I know I'm flirting, but now I have an agenda. I'm going to confront her about Harlan. Today, but not yet."

_She turned around with a smirk, a playful look in her eyes. Benoit did his best not to lose his resolve. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."_

_"Oh, I most certainly plan to."_

_"Even after the investigation is over?"_

_Benoit studied her face. "Well, usually after my investigations are completed, I move on."_

_"Oh." She looked a little let down. "Well, maybe I should give you a deadline."_

_This made the detective bark with laughter. "Perhaps."_

_"I'm going to make it extra hard for you, too." Julia grinned at him and he couldn't help but smile._

_"I do love a challenge."_

"No, do not get caught up in her charming little ways, Blanc. She is a murder suspect."

_They talked more and went walking around the area, and once again Blanc found her pleasant to talk to but quickly blocked out any thoughts of being with her once this whole thing was over. When she invited him for lunch, he declined politely. He told her he had errands to run which was a complete lie. He needed to get away from her lest he lose his nerve about asking her about her involvement in Harlan's untimely death._

"Later," _he thought._ "I will ask her later."

_Miss Drysdale walked him to his car and they said goodbye before he got in and drove away. He spotted her waving in his rearview mirror but he ignored it and drove on. Once he was at a spot where he knew he wouldn't be seen, he stepped on the brakes and put the car in park. In a moment of anger, he started hitting the wheel over and over again._

_"Shit!" he shouted. "Shit shit shit!"_


	22. The Ultimatum

_When Benoit came back to the house, Miss Drysdale's car was still there. When he walked in, he asked about her whereabouts but no one had seen her. They were too busy trying to ask about anything that could make the new will invalid, so Benoit sat down in a chair by the fireplace across from the sitting room and sighed, listening in on the arguing._

_It was tiresome but it was giving him time to think._

"These people don't deserve his money," _he thought._ "But why would Harlan change his will and cut everybody off? Well, maybe he felt they didn't deserve it, either."

_Benoit went back to thinking about the case, dreading the eventual questioning of Miss Drysdale._

_Suddenly he heard a creaking of the stairs and he saw Miss Drysdale walk past him into the room where everyone was gathered. He stared at her and frowned. He was going to question her tonight. That was it. It had to be done._

"Miss Drysdale...Julia..." _he thought._ "I wish it did not have to be this way."

_He continued listening in on the family trying to find a way out of this. When undue influence was mentioned and both Linda and Walt started talking about Marta manipulating Harlan, Miss Drysdale lost it and yelled at her mother._

_"Oh my God, are you freaking kidding me, Mom?! Her hooks?! Marta is the kindest, most gentle person on the planet! She does not have it in her to manipulate anybody!"_

_"You don't know that for sure!" Linda snapped at her daughter._

_"Yes I do! The girl pukes when she lies, for crying out loud! Does that seem like something a manipulator would do?!" Julia argued._

_Benoit chuckled to himself. Atta girl._

_"What about the slayer rule?" Joni piped in._

_"What?" Julia asked._

_"I did just google that."_

_"The slayer rule obviously doesn't apply here," Alan explained._

_"Well, what the hell is the slayer rule?" Richard asked._

_"Well, it's if someone is convicted of killing the person, they don't get their inheritance," Joni explained._

_"Not even convicted. Even if they're held responsible for their death in civil court," Alan corrected._

_Benoit eyed Miss Drysdale who was not reacting physically to this revelation_ _._

_"Like O.J?" Walt asked._

_"Yes, like O.J.. But Harlan committed suicide," Alan said._

_Benoit stared at the fire, his legs crossed, as the room fell silent._

_"Detective Blanc?" Joni said, mispronouncing his name. He looked at her, watching Richard and Miss Drysdale approach him as well. "You said the investigation was ongoing. You made a point of that. Do you suspect foul play?"_

_Blanc smiled softly. "Mr. Blanc, if you please," he corrected before taking in a breath. "There is much that remains unclear, but yes, I suspect foul play."_

_He eyed Julia for her reaction. Her eyes had closed, but nothing else happened._

_"Marta?" Richard asked Blanc._

_"I have eliminated no suspects," he replied, still looking at Julia._

_Richard huffed. "You're full of shit. I don't trust this guy in the tweed suit. And Alan," Richard said, looking at the lawyer, "God bless you, you're useless."_

_"Thank you!" Alan said as he got up to leave with his assistant._

_Benoit gazed up at Miss Drysdale who had a grave expression. By the look in her eyes, she knew that he knew she had been in on Harlan's death. The family argued that Marta had to give up the inheritance, that it was the right thing to do. The moral thing. Benoit wanted to laugh at them all. With a shake of her head, Miss Drysdale went towards the stairs and went up. The stairs creaked horribly while the family was still talking._

"Well, it is now or never," _Benoit thought, getting out of his seat and standing at the foot of the stairs._ "This is it. It is all over. I must confront her about Harlan's death."

_He slowly walked up the stairs after taking a deep breath. He was absolutely dreading this. He got up to the hallway and looked around to see a light coming from under a door._ _The detective stood in front of it, feeling apprehensive. He really didn't want to do this but he had to put his feelings aside._

_The door opened suddenly and Miss Drysdale gasped._

_"Miss Drysdale," he said calmly. "Are you going somewhere?"_

_"Just going home, Detective."_

_"Hmm."_

"That will not do," _he thought. He bowed his head a bit to study her face._

_"Will you be returning here tomorrow?" he asked, hoping that maybe he could prolong the questioning._

_"I...don't see why I won't be," she stammered._

"Maybe I should ask her in the morning."

_"Do you have plans for the morning?" he asked her._

_With crinkled eyes, she looked up at him suspiciously. "No. Why?"_

_Benoit felt very timid. He was dithering and he knew it. "I'd very much appreciate it if you joined me for coffee tomorrow morning. I have a few questions for you."_

_Miss Drysdale arched a brow. "And you can't ask me now?"_

_Benoit's cheeks flushed ever so slightly. He was becoming flustered. "I merely thought you might need a good night's rest before I barrage you with questions, Miss Drysdale," he said._

"You are delaying this. Don't."

_She gave him a shrug. "No need. You can ask me now." She moved to the side so he could come in. "We can do it here, if you'd like." Benoit smirked devilishly at the possible implications of that sentence and all the blood drained from Julia's face. "I mean...you can ask me the questions here. Not...oh dear."_

"Oh, you precious woman," _he thought as he laughed and stepped into the room._

_"It's perfectly fine, I know what you meant," he said. He walked to a chair, placed it in front of the bed and sat._

_Julia sat across from him, burying her hands between her legs. "So, ask away, Detective."_

_Benoit crossed his legs and arms. "Miss Drysdale, you said that Miss Cabrera drove ahead of you when you both left the party, correct?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Strange. Miss Cabrera said that you were ahead of her when you both left."_

_"She did? Well...maybe I was. I don't quite remember for sure, I was pretty out of it. It was midnight, after all," Miss Drysdale explained._

"She's lying. Why lie about this?"

_"And yet you remember seeing her leave the premises?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Well, was she before you or after you?"_

_"...I'm almost certain she was ahead of me."_

_"Hmm," Benoit said, scratching at his chin._ _"And my other question is simply this." He scooted forward and leaned, giving her an intense stare. "What's your secret?"_

_She laughed with a bright smile. Oh, that smile and laugh was killing him right now. "I'm still not telling you my sinfu-"_

_"Not that secret," he interrupted. "The other one."_

_Her smile faded. "My other secret?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I have no other secret," she replied meekly._

_"Yes you do. You know something about Harlan's death, don't you? You know because you were there the moment he slit his throat."_

_"Why would you even say that?" she asked, swallowing hard._

"This is so hard. But I must do this."

_Benoit glanced down. "Because yesterday, there was blood on your boots."_

_There it was. Now was she going to lie to him about it? Or was she going to finally admit the truth? "That could've been from anywhere, Detective," she answered._

_"Can you account for it?"_

_"Yes."_

_Blanc was shocked. She could? Oh thank the Lord. But still, that didn't mean she didn't climb up the trellis. "Then where did it come from?"_

_"Paint, Detective Blanc. I was doing a paint job on my Pontiac this last week."_

_"What kind of paint job_ _?"_

_"I was painting the engine block."_

"What?"

_Benoit raised a brow. "The engine block?"_

_"Yes. All the color had chipped off so I was basically restoring it. It's red."_

_"Ooooh, I see," Blanc said._

"Please don't let this be a lie."

_"That would certainly make sense, but why would you wear your boots? Those were pretty expensive boots."_

_The woman merely shrugged. "They're just boots. Thank you for bringing it to my attention that I had paint on my boot."_

"Not materialistic...hmm..."

_"You're welcome."_

"I am going to need to confirm this," _he thought._

_Benoit stood up. "Might I see this engine block of yours?" he asked with confidence in his voice._

_"Now?" she asked with wide eyes._

_"Yes. If it's not too much trouble, of course. I know the hour is late, but-"_

_Miss Drysdale got up and snatched her coat. "No, it's fine. We can go now."_

_"Excellent."_

* * *

Benoit was cuddling with Julia on the couch, watching a Hallmark movie when she looked up at him.

"Deadly By Surprise, huh?" she asked.

Benoit chuckled as he ate more popcorn. "I am a sucker for Hallmark mystery movies, Miss Drysdale. Do not hold it against me," he said.

Julia tossed a popcorn into the air and caught it in her mouth. "I'll only hold you against me, Detective."

He smiled down at her and kissed her temple before looking back at the movie. Julia took a handful of popcorn and shoved it into her mouth. Her phone rang and Benoit paused to movie so she could answer it.

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

 _"Hey there, man stealer,"_ she heard a voice say.

"...Excuse me?"

Laughter was heard over the phone. _"Yeah, that's right. I got your phone number, bitch."_

Julia rolled her eyes and looked at Benoit who was looking quite curious. "It's Emily."

He narrowed his eyes. "Give me the phone."

Julia shook her head. "It's okay, I got this."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Julia got off the couch and walked into the kitchen. "Listen here, Emily. I don't know what your deal is, but Benoit doesn't want to be with you. He wants to be with me. Why can't you see that?"

_"You stole him from me, that's why! You manipulated him!"_

Julia rolled her eyes again. "Oh really? How did I manipulate him, exactly?"

_"I don't know how you did it. I just know that you did. He never would've left me if it hadn't been for you."_

Julia raised a brow a peeked her head out of the kitchen, putting her hand over the receiver. "Benoit, how long ago did you date this woman?"

Benoit turned his head to look at her. "A few months ago. She's why I left New York City."

Julia's eyes went wide. "Really? You left because of a woman?"

"She was stalking me. A lot."

Julia sighed and lifted her hand off the phone. "Lady, I've only been dating this man for like a week. He dumped you months ago. He even moved out of state to get away from you. Why can't you accept it?"

_"Because I know what's best for him! He's-"_

"Oh really?! He's fifty years old, I think he knows what's best for himself! Now stop trying to kill me!"

_"Never! The cops won't ever get me or Peter. You're going to die a slow and painful death, you whore!"_

Julia groaned in frustration. "You're nuts."

There was a commotion on Emily's end and a male voice came on the phone. _"This is Peter. Now I want you to listen very carefully, Miss Drysde."_

Benoit walked into the kitchen as Julia paced back and forth. "Okay?"

_"I did a little background check on you. I know what you did to Alice Keller."_

Julia froze where she was and her heart stopped. "How?"

_"I have connections. Now, you got two options. You can continue dating Benoit and we'll tell him your dirty little secret, or you can leave him and he'll never find out. Well, not from us at least."_

Julia swallowed hard as her face went pale. She looked at Benoit. He squinted his eyes at her and took a step forward, but she backed up from him. She couldn't let him find out about what she did. She was too terrified about what he'd think of her. But she loved him very much and a part of her knew he'd forgive her...eventually. Or was that just wishful thinking?

 _"What are you going to do, Miss Drysdale?"_ Peter asked.

* * *

_Benoit got out of his car in Miss Drysdale's driveway and sighed. He hoped this wasn't some ruse to get him out in the middle of nowhere. Alone. And to possibly kill him to cover up the possible murder of her grandfather. They both ambled over to the garage and Benoit checked his side to make sure his gun was still holstered. It was. When Julia opened the garage, he was impressed with how immaculate her garage was (save for the floor; it had oil stains everywhere), and how pristine her cars were. Nothing was out of place, which surprised the hell out of him considering how many mechanic shops he'd seen in his life._

_As Julia went around and grabbed her keys for the Pontiac, he began to sweat a little. He checked his side again, unclipping the strap that held the gun in place. Julia opened her car, popped the hood, and walked around to the front of her car._

_Benoit took a deep breath, keeping his hand on his gun as she unlocked the hood._

"Keep calm, Benoit. Keep calm."

_He didn't know what to expect when she opened the hood. A weapon, a tool to use to beat him up, whatever came to his wild imagination. However, when he saw the newly painted engine block, he relaxed, lowered his hand and whistled loudly._

_"That sure is a beauty. You did a nice job, it looks so original," he complimented._

"So it really was paint on her boot," _he thought._ "Maybe it wasn't her who climbed the trellis after all."

_"Thanks," she said, grinning at him._

_He looked at her. "Is this a manual transmission?"_

_"Yes, so is the Dodge Charger."_

_He started checking out her Dodge Charger from afar. "You really do love vintage muscle cars, huh?"_

_"Yes, I do."_

_He motioned to the other red car. "And the CR-V? A '97, you said?"_

_A shrug was her first response. "The '90's was a good decade for Hondas. Actually, she was my first car."_

_Benoit blinked at her in surprise. "Your first car? And you still have it?"_

_"What can I say? I'm sentimental."_

_As he walked over to the driver's side, he noticed a white "N7" with a red and black background. "What does "N7" mean?" he asked curiously._

_"It's from a video game," she said with a smile._

_"What?" he said, chuckling with an arched brow. "You play video games?"_

_He watched her face pale and he smirked. "Um, yes," she replied sheepishly. "Dammit."_

_"What?"_

_"That's my sinful pleasure. Video games." The look on her face was priceless...and adorable._

_"Do you have a large collection?" he asked with a big smile._

_"...Yes. In my basement."_

_Blanc smiled even more. "Show me."_

_"...Pardon?" she said, looking almost frightened._

"Oh, she's being shy. Lord, she's cute."

_"I'd like to see your collection. Show me."_

_Benoit watched her face go red. She agreed...reluctantly...to show him her video game collection. As they walked into her house, he complimented her kitchen before they made their way downstairs. As he made his way behind her, he took in the colors and items of her basement. His eyes went wide when he saw how many games and consoles she had, along with what he assumed was gaming equipment._

_"Sweet beans," he uttered softly._

_A small laugh escaped Miss Drysdale. "Yeah, it's a bit...the games are a bit much, aren't they..."_

"She doesn't need be so embarassed," _he thought._

_"No, not at all," he said as he walked to her shelves of games. "Hmm, even in alphabetical order."_

_He was highly impressed._

_She then showed him that all the games were in prder based on the gaming systems, too._

_"Quite the hobby," he spoke as he pulled out a random game. "Red Dead Redemption 2?"_

_She gave him a shy grin. "Yeah, that's one of my favorites."_

_"Hmm." Benoit put the game back in its previous position and faced her as he put his hands in his pockets. "Well, Miss Drysdale, you just keep surprisin' me."_

_She laughed, crossed her arms and lowered her gaze. "Yes, well..."_

_"Are you embarassed, Miss Drysdale?" he asked._

_Miss Drysdale kept her eyes down as she lifted and relaxed her shoulders. "I guess so. I don't just show_ anybody _my game collection."_

_Benoit cocked his head and smiled. "You don't?"_

_He saw her cheeks go red and she gave him a wide eyed stare. "I mean...that is to say...well, you did want to take a look."_

_He raised a brow. "You could've declined."_

_"I could've."_

_"Yet you did not." He took a step closer, gazing into her eyes as if he could find something. "Why?"_

_"Well," she frowned and looked away, "I guess you're not just anybody, Detective Blanc."_

_Benoit felt his heart melt as his face softened._ "Oh Lord...is she actually..."

_She looked up at him, interrupting his thoughts. "Detective Blanc, I-"_

_"Julia." He dared to say her first name as if it was the sweetest name in the whole world._ _Their eyes were locked on to one another and Benoit could hear his heart pounding._ _Oh hell, he decided he was going to throw caution to the wind and kiss her. Just when he was about to move in, though, his phone rang._

"Of all the worst times..." _he thought bitterly, shutting his eyes and huffing as he pulled out his phone._

_It was his sister-in-law Sarah._ _"I apologize, Miss Drysdale, I must take this call."_

_"Oh, no. It's fine. Go ahead."_

_He watched her walk towards the bar and he turned his back, answering the phone. "Sarah?"_

_Sarah was crying on the other end._ "Thomas was in an accident."

_His eyes went wide. "Shit. Is he okay?"_

"I think so, but could you please come to the hospital?" _she sobbed._

_"Yes, of course, Sarah. I'll be right over."_

_Benoit hung up the phone, turned on his heel and sighed as he looked at Julia. "I do apologize again, but I must get going. I have a family emergency to deal with."_

_She nodded, looking rather...disappointed. "Of course," she said. "I'll, uh, I'll walk you out, Detective."_

_They went up the stairs to the front door and Julia opened it, moving back so Benoit could go out. He turned around with a smile. "Thank you...for showin' me your game collection. It's quite impressive."_

_Benoit noticed she wasn't looking at him. What was wrong? "You're welcome," she said. "You have a nice night, Detective."_

_He frowned. Something changed. Perhaps she hadn't wanted things to...happen. She must've known he was going to kiss her. Or that he wanted to. Did she not feel the same?_

_"Yes, you too, Miss Drysdale."_

_He walked away from the door feeling like a fool. She'd been in a hurry to get him out of their after their moment and he sighed sadly as he got into his car. He'd been presumptuous, assuming she had feelings for him. Perhaps she was just a flirt and found him attractive but did not want things to...go further._

_"You old fool," he said as he started up the car. "You stupid, ridiculous old fool."_

* * *

Julia trembled as she held onto the phone, looking at Benoit like a frightened rabbit. He tilted his head to the side and frowned at her.

"What's wrong, chickapen?" he asked her.

Julia shut her eyes.

 _"What'll it be, Miss Drysdale? Are you going to leave him?"_ Peter asked over the phone.

Julia gulped. "Yes," she answered.

She couldn't let Benoit know.

_"Good girl. Bye bye, now. Oh, and we'll know if you back out on your word."_

There was a click and Julia put the phone on the counter. "Julia? What's wrong?" Benoit asked, walking towards her.

She backed up a little and sighed. She had to get out of there somehow. "Um...I just started my period. I need...to go buy tampons."

 _"Big fat fucking scaredy cat liar,"_ she thought to herself.

Benoit chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Oh. Well, I could go get some for you, if you'd like."

Julia felt even more horrible. He was willing to go buy tampons for her? "Oh. Well, that would be wonderful if you could, donut. Thank you."

Benoit smiled, walked to her and kissed her deeply. She returned it, tears filling her eyes as she kissed him like it was going to be the last time.

And it was.

Benoit pulled back and looked concerned as he held her face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm..." she sighed, wiping her eyes. "I'm just so moved by your offer," she said with a smile.

Benoit laughed and kissed her softly. "I'll be back soon."

He walked out of the kitchen and soon Julia heard the door open and shut. Immediately she went to the bedroom and started gathering her things.

* * *

_Benoit was at the local diner treating his sister-in-law Sarah to breakfast. They were chatting away and he was doing his best to make her feel better about Thomas' accident. He'd only received a broken arm and a concussion but it could've been a lot worse._

_"Hey," he said to Sarah. "He's gonna be fine."_

_Sarah nodded, picking at her food. "I know, I just...I don't know what I'd do without him."_

_Benoit chuckled, drinking some of his coffee. "I know exactly what you mean."_

_Sarah arched a brow. "You do?" Suddenly she gasped. "Did you find a lucky lady?"_

_Benoit laughed, looking down at his food. "Maybe."_

_"She's not crazy like Emily, is she?"_

_"No, thank the Lord for that. No, she's so kind and wonderful. Smart, beautiful...but, I..."_

_Sarah frowned. "But what?"_

_He sighed. "I do not know if the feelings are...mutual. And she is a suspect in my current case."_

_Sarah's eyes went wide. "No!" she gasped. "You're kidding!_

_Benoit shook his head. "I am not. She-" He looked out the window to see none other than Julia staring back at him. "There she is..."_

_He watched as she looked at Sarah, then back at him with a depressed look on her face. That's when he knew. He knew she had feelings for him because she saw him with another woman. That must've been why she acted so strange the night before._

_Before he could celebrate internally, Julia turned and started walking away._

_"Shit!" Benoit snapped as he got out of his seat and ran through the diner to the front door. He burst through them and started running. "Julia! Julia, wait!"_ _She was already at her car and getting in. "Julia, stop!"_

_As she pulled out of the parking lot, he managed to get to the back of her car but she quickly drove away._

_"JULIA!" he yelled. "Shit!"_

_He immediately pulled out his phone and started calling her. Ring after ring after ring, she did not answer. It went to voicemail._

"You have reached Julia Drysdale. I can't pick up the phone right now but please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

_There was a beep and Benoit started talking. "Julia, it's Benoit. What you saw at the diner is not what you think. Please call me back so I can explain."_

_He turned off the phone and sighed. There was not much else he could do for the moment._

_"Shit..."_

* * *

Benoit was at the local convenience store looking at tampons, a box in each hand. One said regular, the other said super. There was another box on the shelf that said light. Were they the sizes? Should he buy all three or just one? He decided the hell with it and brought all three to the counter. The cashier looked at him a little funny but said nothing as Benoit paid with his credit card. The boxes were put in a plastic bag, Benoit thanked the cashier and he walked out the door to his car. He got in, turned the engine over, and drove away from the store. He turned on his music from his phone and connected it via bluetooth to his car stereo. Then he began to sing along to a song.

_The sun comes up_

_I think about you_

_The coffee cup_

_I think about you_

_I want you so_

_It's like I'm losing my mind_

Benoit smiled as he thought of Julia, still singing the song.

_The morning ends_

_I think about you_

_I talk to friends_

_I think about you_

_And do they know?_

_It's like I'm losing my mind_

Benoit turned into the parking lot of his apartment complex.

_All afternoon, doing every little chore_

_The thought of you stays bright_

_Sometimes I stand in the middle of the floor_

_Not going left_

_Not going right_

Benoit parked and turned off the car. He grabbed his phone and the bag of tampons, locked up and walked into his building, humming the song he was just listening to.

When he got to his door, he unlocked it and walked in.

"Julia? Chickapen, I could not figure out which size tampon you prefer so I purchased all three sizes," he called out.

No answer.

"Julia?"

Still no answer.

He blinked and dropped the bag of tampons on the living room table before walking back to the bedroom. He opened the door and looked around. Her suitcase was gone.

She was _gone._


	23. The Tampons

Benoit quickly got his phone out and dialed Julia's number. It went straight to her voicemail. He waited for the beep before he started talking.

"Julia, if I did somethin' to deter you from stayin', I would like to rectify my mistake. Please call me back."

He hung up the phone and huffed sadly. Rubbing his face, he walked back into the living room. No, he was going to call her again. Benoit dialed her phone once more and it went to voicemail.

"Julia, I do not know why you left, I do not know if it was somethin' I did to upset you..." Suddenly the wheels started turning in his head. She only did this _after_ the call from Emily. "Julia, chickapen. Whatever it was that Emily said to you, it is not worth you leavin'. Please come back."

He hung up the phone and started pacing back and forth, biting on his thumb nail. He waited for a few minutes before calling her once more. This time...she actually answered.

_"Benoit..."_

"Julia!" he exclaimed almost excitedly. "What is goin' on? Why did you leave?"

_"...I...I can't say."_

"What do you mean? Was it somethin' Emily told you?" he asked sadly, sitting on the floor and leaning against the couch.

 _"I..."_ he heard her sob. _"I can't say, but we need to...to go our separate ways, Benoit. I'm sorry."_

Benoit's face dropped. "What do you mean? Are you leavin' me?"

_"...Yes, but it's not because of anything you did_ _."_

Benoit frowned. He couldn't believe this was happening. "Julia, listen to me. I'm...I-I'm beggin' you, chickapen. Please come back and let us discuss this like adults. I do not appreciate you runnin' off like a scared little child."

_"But I am scared!"_

Benoit frowned even more. "Of what?"

_"...I have to go."_

"No. No Julia, do not hang up. Don't-"

There was a click on the other end and Benoit dropped the phone, shocked to his core. What was he going to do? He couldn't just let her go. Not like this.

He picked up his phone and dialed Marta. It rang two times before she picked up.

_"Hello?"_

"Marta, it's Blanc," he said, standing up and walking to the door. "Is Julia on her way to you?"

_"Yes, but what is this about? Detective, she said she broke up with you. What is going on?"_

He grabbed his car keys. "She received a call from," he opened his door and locked it behind him, "my very unstable ex-girlfriend and whatever, "he started walking down the hall, "transpired with that conversation made Julia leave me."

_"Is your ex-girlfriend the one who attacked Julia's car with a baseball bat?"_

"Yes," he said, exiting the building and marching to his car. "Same person who rammed her car with you guys in it. Actually it," he unlocked his car, "was her brother that did that, but," he opened the door and got in, "the point is, Julia was spooked and has vacated my apartment because of it. Would you," he started up the car, "know anything about that?"

_"No, she didn't say. Wait, I think I see her coming up the driveway."_

"Are you at Harlan's?" he asked as he put the car in drive and pulled out of his parking space.

_"Yes, we finally moved in the other day."_

"I would congratulate you, but the current circumstances require my full attention," he explained as he drove out of the parking lot and onto the street. "She must've left right after I did."

_"Where did you go?"_

"I left to go purchase her some...feminine hygiene products." Benoit stepped on the gas and went in the direction of the highway.

He heard Marta laugh. _"You went to buy her that? Tampons or pads?"_

Benoit blushed. "She asked for tampons, and when I got to the store, I was rather confused about the sizes, seeing as how I do not know her size, so I bought her all three."

Marta laughed harder. _"The sizes. Oh my goodness._ _Oh, she's coming up the steps now. I will talk to her then I will call you back."_

"Thank you, Marta."

_"You're welcome."_

Benoit hung up the phone and concentrated on driving.

* * *

_Benoit walked back into the diner with the saddest look on his face. He sat back down in the booth he had previously occupied and held his head._

_"What was that about?" Sarah asked Benoit._

_"That was the woman I'm...very much in love with," he replied._

_Sarah whistled. "You're in love with her already?"_

_"Yes. I am not sure how it happened, exactly, but...it did happen," he said, drinking his coffee._

_Sarah was now more interested in her food and began eating more. "She's beautiful though. Wait, she looked very familiar. What's her name?"_

_"Julia Drysdale."_

_Sarah blinked. "The writer?"_

_"Mmhmm."_

_"Oh hell. You hit the jackpot."_

_Benoit wobbled his head and winced at the implication. "Don't say that. She is rich, but that does not matter to me."_

_"No, I mean the romantic jackpot. She's a romance writer. Didn't you know? Oh god, I love all her books!"_

_Benoit chuckled. "Yes. I know what she does."_

_Sarah grinned and took another bite of her bacon. "So, how are you gonna win her back?"_

_Benoit scoffed in amusement. "I never had her to begin with, Sarah."_

_"Bullshit. Did you not see the look on her face? Yeah, she looked sad, but she also looked jealous."_

_Benoit looked out the window, clasping his hands together and holding them to his mouth. "I know. She probably thought you were my girlfriend or somethin'."_

_"Then there you have it. Win her back, Benny."_

_"But even so," Benoit turned his head and gave Sarah a serious look, "she is a suspect in a murder investigation."_

_"Well, do you think she did it?"_

_"...No, I do not."_

_That was true. He felt with all he was that Julia Drysdale was not a killer. And she obviously had much love for her grandfather, so that definitely put a kink in his not-so-solid theory about her breaking into Harlan's house the night he died. Still, deep down, he suspected it was his feelings getting in the way of his judgment._

_"But that could be because I do not want to see her as a killer."_

_"Oh hogwash. You are an excellent judge of character. If you believe she had nothing to do with it, then it's true," Sarah explained, drinking her own coffee._

_This was also true. Blanc knew he was missing a very valuable piece of the puzzle that would help him see the whole picture. It was downright frustrating. And it all boiled down to whoever climbed the trellis, but how would he figure it out?_

_Suddenly he had an idea, just like a light bulb turning on._

* * *

Julia walked up the stairs with her suitcase in hand and tears in her eyes as Marta opened the door. She frowned at Julia and eyed the suitcase. "Come on in, I just put the kettle on. You and I are gonna have some hot cocoa."

Julia nodded with a smile as she walked in, Marta giving her a hug. "Thank you for letting me stay with you, Marta. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem," Marta said, leading Julia to the kitchen. "Now, what happened?"

"We were," Julia set the suitcase down, "watching "Deadly By Surprise" and then his crazy fucking ex Emily called me. She called me all sorts of names, then," Julia sat down at the table, elbowing it while holding her head in her hands, "her brother got on the phone and gave me an ultimatum. Leave Benoit or they'd tell him about Alice."

"Oh," Marta said as she went searching for mugs. "I see. So you left because of _that_ _?"_

"Yes. The detective must think I'm no better than his crazy ex."

Marta chuckled. "I highly doubt that. I mean, he obviously likes you."

Julia lifted her head and watched Marta pour hit cocoa powder into the mugs. "You think so?"

"I know so. He asked about your favorite breakfast and made it for you, he took you to Alfonso's for your first date, he let you stay with him in your time of need, I mean," Marta said, walking back to the table. "He obviously likes you a lot. Why would you throw something like that away?"

Julia frowned and knuckled her chin, staring at the wooden table with a defeated look on her face. "Because I don't want him to know about Alice. I'd rather him think I'm crazy than cruel. I mean, you know what I did. I told you."

Marta nodded as she sat down. "Mmhmm, but that's not who you are now, is it?"

"No, but still...I...I don't think I could handle him rejecting me."

"So, instead of him rejecting you, you rejected him? That doesn't seem very fair."

Julia shut her eyes and slammed her forehead on the table. "You're right. I fucked up royally. But it doesn't matter now, it's not like he's coming after me," she said, lifting her head.

Marta smirked at her. "I don't think so," she sang.

Julia stared at her bug-eyed. "What?"

The kettle started whistling and Marta walked over to it, taking it off the hot coil. "He called me. Asked if you were coming here and also told me," she started laughing, "that he bought three different types of tampons because he didn't know what size you were."

First it started out as a giggle, then Julia burst into hysterical laughter. "He didn't know my size? Oh, that poor, clueless man!"

Marta laughed into a fit as well as she poured hot water into the mugs. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard, but it was also so cute."

"That _is_ cute," Julia laughed. "But...oh, don't tell me he's coming here."

Marta started mixing the hot cocoa. "More than likely, yes. Sounded like he was driving when I talked to him."

"And when did you talk to him?"

"Just before you got here."

Julia groaned and smashed her forehead on the table again. "I'm an idiot. I...admit it. I'm an idiot. A big fat fucking idiot."

"Yep," Marta said as she put two big marshmallows in the cups. "A big idiot. He's a good man, Julia."

Julia scoffed at Marta. "Hey, you're supposed to help me feel better, not worse!"

"No." Marta grabbed the mugs and brought them over to the table, sitting down at the other end. "I'm supposed to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear."

Julia chuckled, blowing on her hot cocoa before grabbing the marshmallow and taking a small bite out of it. "Mmm," she said in delight.

"Good?"

"Yes."

Marta sighed. "So, you must really like him too if you're this worried about being rejected by him."

Julia puckered her lips in and lowered her gaze, her hands encircling the mug. "I do. As a matter of fact, I...I love him, Marta."

Marta's jaw dropped. "What? Seriously? So soon?"

Julia nodded with a disgruntled chuckle. "When he made me breakfast the first time, I just...I fell hard, Marta. Real hard. And he is the most amazing man I've ever known. He's selfless, kind, and _soooooo_ sexy, he makes my toes curl."

Marta grinned and blew on her hot cocoa, cupping the mug. "Have you guys...you know..."

Julia shook her head. "No. As I said, he's more of a fourth or fifth date kind of guy. We've only been on three."

Marta sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking at Julia with a curious expression. "When was the third date?"

"It was a double date...with my parents."

Marta blinked. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. It was...awkward at first, but then Charles showed up and Benoit and my dad made him leave, so...things were fine after that."

"Charles showed up?" Marta asked, abruptly sitting up straight with a shocked look.

"Yeah, but as I said, they made him leave. And after we were done and Benoit went to get the car, my parents asked me when the wedding was gonna be and when they should expect grandkids."

Marta burst into laughter. "Wow. He must've made quite the impression."

"He did," Julia smiled, taking another bite of her marshmallow.

"Does he even want any of that?"

"Yes."

Marta's jaw dropped. "You both have already discussed this?"

Julia smiled weakly and looked away. "He said he could see us having a future like that."

"Julia, has it occurred to you that the detective might be in love with you, too?" Marta asked.

Julia thought for a moment. She hadn't considered that possibility. She looked at Marta with a sort of scared expression on her face. "Even if he is, that doesn't mean he won't leave me if he finds out about what happened with Alice."

"Well, you left him, so what's the harm in him finding out now?"

"He'll lose his good opinion of me and I don't think I could handle that."

"I'm sure you're just being paranoid, Julia," Marta said, taking a small sip from her hit cocoa. "He's a detective. He's probably seen worse things happen to people."

"Yeah but I'm not a suspect, I'm his girlfriend. Or...was..."

Marta got up and sighed. "Well, I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Julia nodded and sipped her cocoa as Marta left the room.

* * *

Benoit's phone started ringing and he picked it up. "Marta?"

_"Hey, so she told me what happened. Peter told her that she needed to break up with you or they'd tell you about Alice."_

Benoit closed his eyes for a moment and huffed. "I see. Is she still there?"

_"Yes, she's having some hot cocoa."_

"Good. How is she?"

_"Upset. She thinks you'll leave her if you find out about Alice and she also feels like an idiot."_

Benoit chuckled a little. "Well, I gave her my word that I would not leave. I do not understand why she will not believe me."

_"Listen, Detective. What happened with Alice was bad. Real bad."_

"You know about it?" Benoit asked as he pulled off the highway. He was speeding like a crazy person but he didn't care.

_"Yes. She told me all about it years ago."_

Benoit sighed. "I do not suppose you can give me the details?"

_"It's not my place. I'm sorry."_

"I understand. Listen, I should be there in about twenty minutes. Do you think you can keep her there until I arrive?"

_"Sure."_

"Thank you, Marta."

_"You're welcome, Benoit."_

Benoit hung up and floored it as he got onto another highway.

* * *

_After talking to Greatnana Thrombey, Benoit got a call from Lieutenant Elliot about a fire at the Norfolk County Medical Examiner's office. The detective met up with Trooper Wagner and they both drove into South Boston towards the office. When they reached it, fireman and cops were everywhere as they were trying to put out the fire._

_Benoit whistled at the sight of the burnt up building after rolling his window down. This had been a pretty big fire._

_The detective got out of the car and made his way to Elliot who was talking to firefighter. "What's the cheese?" he asked the lieutenant._

_"Oh, hey," Elliot said to Benoit. They took a walk. "5:00 am. Security systems here are all triggered. Now, this thing went up really quick, so that means blood stores, records, anything of that nature, it's all gone. There were no employees here, so, thank God for that."_

_"Mmhmm," Benoit agreed as they stopped walking. He took another look at the building after glancing briefly at Elliot. "What about security cameras?" he asked, pointing around at nothing in particular._

_"Oh yeah," Elliot replied, pointing upwards. Benoit looked to see a burned security camera. "Speaking of security, the surveillance tape at the Thrombey estate showed nothing out of the ordinary."_

_Benoit looked at him in surprise. "Nothing?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"Well, what's still pendin' from the autopsy?"_

_"Just a report of the blood work."_

_Benoit looked back at the building, the wheels turning in his head again. "Blood work? Hmm. Someone went through quite a bit to cover up their tracks, it would seem," he said, gesturing at the building._

_"Yeah, maybe."_

_Benoit sighed, looking around before grabbing his phone to dial Julia. He still needed to explain himself. After three rings, it went to voicemail._

_"Miss Drysdale...Julia, please call me back. We need to talk about what occurred at the diner. Listen, after all this is over...I would like to ask you an important question. I know it is rather unusual, but I would like to ask you face to face. Please call me back so we can set up a meeting._

_"_ _Benoit hung up and frowned. "Who was that?" Elliot asked._

_"Oh, I was leavin' a message for Julia...I mean Miss Drysdale,"_ _Benoit corrected himself._

_Elliot eyed him_ _with intrigue. "Since when did you start calling her by her first name?" he said with a smile._

_The bridge of the detective's nose went a little red. "It was a slip up, is all."_

_"Uh huh," Elliot teased._

_Benoit frowned, turned his back to him and dialed Julia's number again. As it was ringing, he shifted about and spotted a blue car up the way. Wait, wasn't that Miss Cabera's car? He hung up the phone and started making his way towards the car. What was she doing here?_

_Suddenly the car drove away and Benoit became frustrated. What in the hell was that girl doing? He started backing up._

_"Elliot!" he yelled, turning around and jogging. "We gotta go! We gotta go!"_

_"Who was that?" Elliot asked as some cops were rounded up._

_"That was Marta Cabrera's car! Let's go!"_

_"Oh damn!" Elliot exclaimed as they got in a cruiser with Trooper Wagner. They drove off to chase after that car._

_As they were chasing down the car with two other cruisers, Blanc tried calling Marta'a phone._

_"C'mon, Marta, what are you doing?" he said to himself._

_The sirens were blaring as they got closer. Luckily Marta's car didn't seem very fast._

_"Vehicles in pursuit on Washington Street!" Wagner said into the police radio._

_"No force," Elliot said. "Make sure you say no force."_

_"No force."_

_"We got a possible murder suspect."_

_"I said that, I said that."_

_Benoit narrowed his eyes as they got closer to Marta's car. Soon they were alongside it and Benoit started calling Marta again, Wagner honking his horn. He stuck his head out the window with his phone, pointing at it, when he was shocked to see Ransom in the passenger side...and Julia in the back seat._

"What the hell is she doing with them?" _he thought, staring at her face._

_She and him locked eyes and Julia looked at him with regret. Oh, that poor woman. She did not look like she was enjoying any of this. Was this her brother's doing? It had to be. Suddenly Marta slammed on her brakes and they all went driving past._

_"Woa!" all three men yelled._

_"Turn back around, Wagner!" Elliot snapped._

_"I'm going, I'm going!" Wagner snapped back, turning the car around and go after Marta once more._

_They drove into South Boston after the girl, the two cop cars ahead of them as the raced down the street. They saw Marta pull into an alley._

_"Get around and catch her from the other side!" Elliot yelled._

_"I'm trying!" Wagner shouted._

_"Everyone, let's remain calm here," Benoit stated._

_They finally managed to find Marta's car parked in an alleyway and they stopped. Benoit got out, took a deep breath, and walked to the car, knocking on Marta's window._

_All three of the suspects got out with their hands up. Julia was avoiding Benoit's gaze as he stared at her in amazement._

_"That was the dumbest car chase of all time," Elliot said. "Put your hands down."_

_"I spoke to Wanetta Thrombey, Greatnana. Night of the party, he saw someone climbin' the trellis to the third floor," Blanc said, looking at Marta._

_As Trooper Wagner and Lieutenant Elliot were putting Ransom in their car, Julia turned to Blanc. "Detective, why are they arresting my brother?"_

_""Ransom came back, she said. I don't know what he came back to do, but we'll find out," he explained, staring into Julia's eyes. She still looked a little frightened, the poor thing. He glanced at Marta. "Did he ask you to drive when he saw me comin'?"_

_"Yes," Marta replied before getting into the car._

_Benoit looked at Julia with a soft smile. "Well, this is the second time I've had to chase you today, but I'm glad I caught you the second time." Julia didn't react like he'd hoped and she was about to get back into the car but he held the door shut. "Miss Drysdale, about earlier, I-"_

_"Really, Detective Blanc. You don't need to explain-"_

_"Blanc, you coming with us?" Elliot ask him._

_"I'll drive with Marta," Blanc said with a shake of his head. He glanced back at Miss Drysdale. "Yes, I do need to explain. That woman at the diner was my-"_

_Julia shoved her hand up, clearly not in the mood for his explanation. Oh boy. "I don't care who she is, it doesn't matter."_

"It doesn't matter?" _he thought with a frown._

_"Well why not?" he asked in a frustrated voice._

_"Because your personal life is none of my business," Julia snarled before getting into the car._

_Benoit rolled his eyes in irritation and walked around to the other side of the car. "Why won't she just hear me out?" he asked himself._

* * *

Julia was on her second cup of hot cocoa, along with Marta, when Marta's mother walked in. "Ah, Julia. Good to see you. How are you?"

Julia smiled at her sadly. "Well, I've been better," she said.

Marta's mother frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry. What's the problem?"

Julia sighed and drank some hot cocoa. "Men troubles," Marta explained.

"With that detective?" Marta's mom asked.

"Mmhmm," Marta replied.

The two started conversing in Spanish when Alicia, Marta's younger sister, walked in. "Hey there, Julia," she said, walking to the fridge to grab a snack.

"Hi Alicia," Julia said glumly.

The door bell rang and Julia stood up, knocking her chair over. Oh no. Benoit was here. Shit.

Marta walked out of the kitchen and Julia grasped her mug tightly. She was panicking. Really panicking. She had to fight the urge to run upstairs and hide like a child. Where could she run to? Julia knew he'd just follow her and not back down.

When she saw Benoit walk in, all the blood drained from her face. Oh, how he wished she'd just run up the stairs. She didn't want him to know about Alice. She didn't want to tell him. She didn't want Peter or Emily to tell him. No, she had to stay strong and keep her secret locked up tight. Even if that meant keeping them apart.

"Julia," Benoit said softly from the doorway.

"Benoit," she said back.

"Let's talk," he said.


	24. The Break Up

Julia lowered her gaze away from Benoit. She heard shoes cross the kitchen floor and a chair scrape across it as well. Benoit sat down with a groan and leaned forward, his elbows relaxing on his knees.

"Talk to me," Benoit said quietly.

Julia looked up at the members of the house and they quickly vacated the kitchen to give the couple more privacy. As the door shut, Julia eyed Benoit before looking away.

"Peter threatened to tell you about Alice if I didn't break up with you," Julia explained.

"Hmm," he said, removing his sunglasses. "Sweetheart," he sighed, "I think it is time you told me about Alice."

Julia shook her head. "I can't."

"Then Emily and Peter win. Do you want that?"

"Of course I don't," she huffed, giving him a disgusted look.

"Then how do we fix this problem?"

"I don't know." Julia sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I just know that I don't have the heart to tell you what I did."

"Then let Peter tell me. Julia, do you really think I am goin' to let something that happened so long ago come between us?" Benoit asked sadly.

Julia frowned, not looking at him. "Yes."

Julia felt her hands pried away from her face and she looked at him with tears threatening to fill her eyes. He merely stroked a strand of hair from her face and smiled. "Well I won't. Why won't you believe me?"

"It's not like I don't want to believe you, Benoit. I'm just not ready for you to know yet."

"Then what do I have to do to make you believe me?" he asked, sounding almost desperate.

"I don't know," she replied, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "I just don't know."

Benoit bowed his head and sighed. "Julia, please don't do this to us. We can work this out, I promise."

Julia wanted to believe him so much. There was possibly one thing he could do to make her believe, and that was if he said he loved her. Maybe then she'd be convinced, but she knew he wasn't in love with her. She gave him a sad look and cupped his face. "I don't know how we can work this out."

Benoit shut his eyes and kissed the palm of her hand. "We will figure out this dilemma, chickapen. Please don't leave me," he pleaded depressingly.

Hearing him talk like that broke Julia's heart tremendously. She hated doing this to them both. She hated Peter and Emily for causing this big rift between her and the man she loved. She wished she could get over her fear of him knowing about Alice, but she was too much of coward.

"I'm sorry, Benoit," was all she could say before getting up and walking to the kitchen door.

* * *

_"Miss Drysdale, we need to talk_ _," said Blanc._

_"About what?" Miss Drysdale asked_ _bitterly._

_He took his glasses off and looked at her_ _. "You know what."_

_She rolled her head away and scoffed_ _. "Like I said, your personal life is none of my business."_

_Benoit made a quiet grubt as his eyes narrowed. He was dealing with a very stubborn woman and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. In a huff, he got out of the car, slammed the door shut, opened the back seat and crawled in just as Julia looked at him with a confused look._ _"Listen, you must let me explain-"_

_"You don't have to explain anything!" Miss Drysdale barked._

_"Well, based on your aggression towards me, I think I do!" Benoit barked back._

_A frown formed on her face_ _. "Alright, fine. I'm mad at you. I admit that, but I have no right to be considering...I..." she_ _stopped and went no further._

_"Considerin' what?"_ _he asked._

_He needed to get her to admit what she was mad about. Maybe that would calm her down enough so that he could finally explain what she saw at the diner._

_She_ _unbuckled and faced him. "Considering I am a suspect in a murder case and you are the very person investigating that case, it'd be highly inappropriate if I..."_

_"If you what?"_

_"If I was upset with you for being with another woman," Julia said, sighing in contempt and leaning back in the seat._

_Blanc chuckled. "She's not another woman, Miss Drysdale. She's my sister-in-law."_

_Miss Drysdale blinked a few times then looked at him_ _. "What?"_

_Blanc leaned towards Julia. "That woman, Sarah, is my sister-in-law. She called me when I was with you to inform me that my brother was in a car accident and was taken to the hospital."_

_Julia blinked again. "...Oh. Is he okay?"_

_"He suffered a broken arm and a concussion but he'll be fine. I decided to treat Sarah to breakfast this mornin'. She'd had a rough go of it, you see."_

_He watched her face blush and he fought the urge to smirk at her._ _"...I suppose I owe you an apology, then," she said, looking away from him._

_"That's alright," he said with a chuckle. "An apology is not necessary."_

_"It's not?"_

_"No, my dear, it is not."_

_A smile appeared on her face and their eyes met. Lord, she had such beautiful blue eyes. "So...what happened when I left the diner?"_

_"I tried to call you. Sarah asked me what was goin' on and...I explained everything to her."_

_She_ _tilted her head to one side. "Explained what?"_

"That I'm in love with you," _Benoit thought before he took a deep breath. "I explained how you make me feel, Miss Drysdale."_

_"And how do I make you feel?" she asked, biting her lower lip._

_"From the moment I saw you, I was enchanted. And for the two days I've known you, you have been on my mind a considerably large amount of time."_

_This was a fact._

_Julia smiled a little. "Really?"_

_"Yes. Despite my better judgement of not fraternizing with suspects on a case, I have a very difficult time reining in my urges towards you."_

_This was definitely a fact as well._

_Julia arched a brow and gave a sly grin. "What urges are we talking about here?"_

_Blanc chuckled deeply. "Well, I-" They were interrupted by sirens and they both looked behind them to see two paramedics leaving an ambulance. "Oh, Lord," Blanc said, getting out of the car._

_"Oh shit," Miss Drysdale said_ _. Benoit looked at the window and saw Marta giving CPR to someone_

_It was Fran, the housekeeper._ _What in the world?_

_The paramedics moved Marta out of the way and Benoit watched as Marta came out of the laundromat._ _Something was amiss with this whole thing. Why would the housekeeper be in an abandoned laundromat and how did Marta know she was there in the first place?_

_"Marta, what's wrong with Fran?" Julia asked._

_"She overdosed on morphine. I never would have taken her for a user," Marta said._

_Blanc looked between the two of then, a suspicious look on his face. "What exactly is happenin' here, Miss Cabrera? How did you happen upon Fran in an abandoned building?" Marta kept her mouth shut, not saying a word. Blanc frowned and looked at Julia. "Julia? Did you know about this?"_

_Julia lowered her face and started wringing her hands together, biting her lower lip._

_She knew something about this, but he didn't want to believe it._

_"...Julia? Talk to me," he said calmly._

_"I can't,"_ _Miss Drysdale sniffled, looking up at Benoit with sa d, tearful eyes._

_Blanc put his hands in his pockets with a disappointed look on his face. "I see..."_

_Suddenly the detective felt like he'd been duped by Miss Drysdale. Had she planned this all along? To distract him from solving the case by appealing to his heart? How could one even accomplish that? Was their connection even real or a figment of his own imagination?_

_"Detective, I'd like to go with Fran to the hospital," Marta said._

_"That can be arranged, of course," Benoit said_ _as he watched Miss Drysdale walk to the car._

* * *

Benoit sadly watched Julia exit the kitchen but he got up and chased after her. Obviously he wasn't going to let her go that easily.

"Julia," he said as he ran to keep the door from opening, placing a palm on it when she tried to move it. "Julia, please don't do this."

"My mind is made up, Benoit," she said, leaning her hands on the door.

Benoit was a patient man. He could wait her out and he knew it. "Then I will wait."

Julia gaped at him. "What?"

"I'm going to wait until you are ready to come back to me."

Her jaw dropped even more. "But...but why? Why would you do that?"

Benoit wanted to tell her how much he loved her but he didn't want to risk scaring her off. He didn't think she was ready to hear it.

"Because I am patient and you are worth the wait," he said matter-of-factly.

Soft, blue eyes gazed back at him and the woman he loved sighed deeply. "This could take a while."

Benoit frowned and caressed her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her lips. "I know. But I will wait for you anyway."

Julia looked so sad in that moment, yet completely touched by his devotion. That part he had been looking for. He leaned in and kissed her softly, vowing internally that he would do everything in his power to get Emily and Peter locked up for their crimes. Now it was a truly personal offense against him since they'd managed to drive his girlfriend off.

"Call me when you're ready, Julia. I'll be waiting," he said before opening the door and walking out of the kitchen.

* * *

_As they were sitting in the hospital, Benoit kept glancing at Julia who would occasionally wring her hands together. It was her tell when she was nervous. He cleared his throat and leaned over to her._

_"Miss Drysdale, I'd really appreciate it if you came clean with me," he muttered._

_Her only response was to close her eyes and turn her head from his direction. Benoit frowned, knowing full well that she was part of Harlan's death. And this saddened him to a high degree._

_His phone started ringing and he answered it._

_"Detective Blanc," he said._

"Hey Benny, it's Elliot."

_"Oh, Lieutenant Elliot. Have you any good news for me?"_

"Not really. Ransom turned belly up on Marta and his sister."

_Benoit internally cursed Ransom for betraying Julia._ _"Go on."_

"Well, apparently Marta had accidentally given Harlan the wrong dosages of his medicine, then Harlan prevented her and Miss Drysdale from phoning an ambulance. Before slicing his thrist, he gave them specific instructions to which Miss Drysdale carried out. She climbed the trellis, put on her grandfather's robe and cap and went downstairs to fake Harlan being seen by Walt."

 _So, Miss Drysdale_ had _climbed the trellis. Benoit felt like a real fool. He eyed Julia for a moment before speaking to Elliot again._

_"I see. Mmhmm...alright, my friend. Thank you for the update," he said as he looked at the two women in their seats. They were holding hands which made him frown. Obviously they had made some sort of decision and he had a feeling it would not bode well for either of them._

"Do you want me to send some boys over to take them into custody?"

_Benoit grimaced at the thought of Julia in handcuffs. "Uh, no need for that. I'll bring them in once we get word that the housekeeper is stable. It's still touch and go."_

"Okay, we'll be waiting."

_"Alright."_

_Benoit hung up the phone and gazed at Marta._

_"Listen, this is over," she said as her leg bounced up and down. Benoit figured that was her tell for anxiety. "People are getting hurt...so we're gonna tell you the truth."_

_"Young Ransom just told Lieutenant Elliot everything, who just told me everything," Benoit explained as he glanced at Miss Drysdale._

_"Good. Wait, I hope he didn't cover for us."_

_"Ha!" Julia laughed coldly. "Yeah right!"_

_"Did he tell you the real truth, about me switching the-"_

_"Yeah," Blanc sighed._

_"And the disguise bit?"_

_"Yes."_

_"And the whole blackmail and-"_

_"Mmhmm."_

_"But why did Fran take my morphine? I mean, obviously she had swiped the bag from the house, but she didn't seem like a user to me, unless that's why she needed the blackmail money."_

_Benoit made a confused face. Why would the housekeeper take morphine when she was about to confront Marta? Strange..._

_"I don't know, it doesn't matter anyway. I...we have to tell the Thrombeys ourselves, I feel like we owe that to them."_

_"Yeah," Julia said. "I...I think we-"_

_"I don't think that's a good idea," Blanc said to them both._

_Marta telling the Thrombeys was one thing, but Julia telling her family that she was in on the whole thing? He shuddered to think how they'd react to both of them._

_"No, we have to do it. We_ need _to do it," Julia said quickly._

_"Julia-" Blanc said._

_"No, it's settled. We're telling my family everything. Our minds are made up, Detective."_

_Benoit and Miss Drysdale looked at each other with meloncholic expressions. He wanted to be angry with her, but he couldn't find it in his heart to be angry with her. All she was truly guilty of was protecting her best friend and to be honest, he couldn't fault Miss Drysdale for that at all. She had a good, kind heart. He knew that to be true. When Julia looked away, he closed his eyes sadly. If only things had been different._

_"I gave the doctors my number, so they'll call me if anything changes with Fran," Marta said._

_"Alright, I'll round up the Thrombeys at the house, along with a police escort."_

_"For the arrest after," Marta said._

_"You both can tell me your whole story on the drive over. I don't want any more surprises," he said, barely glaring at Miss Drysdale._

_As they made their way out of the hospital and into the parking lot, Benoit kept his gaze on Julia. In all his years, he'd never felt so taken for a ride like he did now. She looked over her shoulder at him, looking apologetic. Was she truly sorry for any of this? For what he thought they had...going on between them?_ _When they went to get into the car, Benoit reached out and gently grabbed Julia's arm. He had to know if it was real or not._

_"Miss Drysdale, a word in private?" he asked._

_"Okay," she said as she shifted her head to face him with a nod._

_Benoit waited until Marta was in the car. "I understand why you took part in this, I do. But I must inquire...why couldn't you let me in on your secret?"_

_"To protect me friend, Detective Blanc."_

_"You should have told me," he said with very restrained anger in his voice._

_"I know. But...it was an accident, Detective Blanc. She shouldn't have to go to jail for an accident."_

_"I couldn't agree more, but the law is the law, Miss Drysdale."_

_Julia nodded and sighed. "Any other questions?"_

_Now for the real question. Now for the answer he had to know._

_"Was our...connection real to you at all, or were you just trying to prevent me from arriving at the terminus of the rainbow?"_

_Miss Drysdale's mouth dropped a little. "Yes, it was very real to me, Detective."_

_Benoit smirked at her. "Heh, I really want to believe you."_

_And for the most part, he did believe her. However, there was a small piece of him that felt insecure about her feelings towards him._

_"I understand if you don't believe me but I'm telling the truth," Julia claimed._

_While taking off his glasses to rub a smudge from the lens, he nodded. "Miss Drysdale, I have no further questions."_

_As Julia got in, Benoit walked to the passenger side, still confused. Something still felt off about this case. He seemingly had all the pieces and the donut had its donut hole, but still...it almost seemed too easy now. He couldn't help but feel there was anothet complication. For example, why would Fran make herself overdose on morphine just before her meeting with Marta? And why would Greatnana say she saw Ransom climb down the trellis?_

_This was certainly a conundrum indeed._

* * *

When Benoit left, Julia felt her knees give out and she slumped to the floor, pressing her forehead to the door. She began to cry quietly at her predicament? Why couldn't she just tell him the truth? Why did she have to be such a fucking coward?

"Fucking coward..." she said to herself, tears streaming down her face.

After a few moments, she got up, brushed her tears away and walked back to the table to finish her hot cocoa. A few minutes went by before Marta walked in.

"Julia?" she said with a frown. "What happened?"

Julia took a sip of her cocoa and sighed. "We broke up."

Just saying those words made Julia's heart break into a million pieces. It wasn't the end, according to him, but it still felt like the end of the world to her. How long could one man wait for a woman?

"But why?" Marta asked, walking over to Julia.

"Because I can't tell him about Alice. Not yet."

Marta's frown deepened. "No offense, but that's a bunch of horseshit."

Julia laughed sadly and sniffled. "I know. I'm a coward."

"You just seriously let that good man walk out of your life for good?!" Marta said loudly.

"He said he'd wait until I was ready to talk."

Marta scowled at Julia. "Julia, you're an idiot."

"I know," Julia said forlornly, looking inside her mug. "I'm a coward and an idiot."

Marta shook her head. "You need to go after him. Right now."

Julia shook her head. "I can't."

Marta got in Julia's face. "Call him right now and tell him to come back. Julia, you _love_ him. Don't do this."

Julia shook her head and stood up. "My mind is made up."

Julia walked out of the kitchen, grabbed her suitcase, went up the stairs to her room and shut the door.

* * *

_Julia was sitting in her classroom staring at the clock. It was almost three and god, she was so tired of listening to her stupid teacher explaining math. She hated math._

_Julia heard a 'pst' and she turned her head to see Ransom trying to get her attention. He looked at the front of the class then threw a crumpled piece of paper at her. She caught it and opened it._

"Prank tonight at the party. You down?" _the note read._

_Julia quietly giggled and wrote something in response._

"Who is the target?" _she wrote before crinkling up the note and tossing it back to Ransom._

_Julia watched him write something down, look at the teacher, crumple it back up and threw it at her. Julia caught it once more and opened it._

"Whoever passes out first."

_Julia covered her mouth and nodded to her brother as she suppressed a high pitched giggle._

_The bell rang and Julia pocketed the note before grabbing her things and_ _rushing out the classroom door. Ransom caught up to her and chuckled._

_"So, I was thinking "The Human Burrito"," he said to her as she walked to her locker._

_"Ooooh, good one. We should make a grocery store run before the party," she said as she opened her locker._

_"Yeah, but I was thinking we could use dog shit as the refried beans."_

_Julia cackled before grabbing her phone and locking up. "Excellent choice, dear brother mine!"_

_They both walked down the hall to Ransom's locker, Ransom occasionally knocking people out of the way. This made Julia laugh all the more._

_Once Ransom had all his things, they left the school and crossed the way through the parking lot to his Beemer. They got in and Ransom drove off to head to the grocery store._

_The twins spent a good ten minutes grabbing whatever they could for their planned prank. Once they paid for all the stuff as well as a few snacks for themselves, Julia asked if they could stop at the auto parts store. She needed an oxygen sensor for her car._

_"An oxygen sensor?" Ransom asked. "What's an oxygen sensor?"_

_"It monitors how much oxygen goes into the exhaust stream," Julia replied._

_"Okay? Why do you need one?"_

_"Meh, the idling on my car has been off. It's stalled a few times while I've been driving it."_

_"Oh. Well, you're the expert."_

_They got to the auto parts store and Julia went inside quickly to greet one of the workers. "Hey Hector," she said. "You got any oxygen sensors for a '97 Honda CR-V?"_

_Hector, an older Latino man with graying hair smiled at her. "Go ahead and check in the back, kid," he said as he was dealing with other customers._

_"Thanks," she said before heading to one of their computers to look up the part._

_She typed in the information and found what section of the back aisles it was in then she went to go dig around for it._ _She went down one aisle and started searching the sections. When Julia found what she was looking for, she grabbed the box and headed back up front to purchase it._

_"Thanks, Hector," she said as she bought the oxygen sensor._

_"You're welcome, Miss Drysdale," Hector said with a smile before she left._

_When the twins got home, t_ _hey left the goodies in the trunk and went inside to do their own thing. Julia headed straight to the garage to work on her car._ _She_ _put on her coveralls, put her hair in a bun, turned on the radio to some rock music and_ _put her car on a jack._

_After jacking up the car, she grabbed one of her big wrenches, the new oxygen sensor and her creeper. She laid on the creeper and rolled under the car. Julia began whistling to the tune "Enter Sandman" by Metallica that was playing on the radio, although she was horribly off key. As she put the wrench on the old oxygen sensor, the one she suspected was bad, Julia tried to get it off but it wouldn't budge._

_"Gah, c'mon you son of a bitch!" she snarled._

_She rotated around on her creeper and started kicking the wrench. It finally made the old oxygen sensor come loose. Just then her phone started ringing and she pulled it from her coveralls, pressing the answer button and putting it on speaker._

_"Yeah?" she asked._

"Hey Julia, it's Kelly."

_"Oh hi Kelly, sup?"_

"What are you doing?"

_Julia grabbed a hold of the wrench and started working the old sensor off. "Just replacing a part on my car. Why?"_

"Ugh, I'll never understand why you have such a weird hobby. You're a girl, for gosh sakes."

_"So? There are plenty of female mechanics in the world and there should be more. What gives?"_

"Fair enough. Are you and Ransom going to the party tonight?"

_"Of course we are. Wouldn't miss it for the world," Julia grunted as the wrench fell off, making a high pitched clattering on the floor almost like a bell. "Ack, dammit."_

"What was that?"

_"I dropped my wrench. So what about the party?"_

"I'm bringing Alice with. Do you think you could, you know, help keep an eye on her at the party with me?"

_Julia paused as she was turning the old sensor loose. "Alice? You're bringing your 14-year-old sister to the party? Are you sure that's wise?"_

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?"

_"Well," Julia groaned as she yanked out the old sensor, examining it. Yep, it looked bad alright. "I dunno. She's a little young for partying yet, don't ya think?"_

"No."

_Julia sighed. "Alright, well, sure. I'll help keep an eye on her."_

"Thanks. I'll see you later, darling!"

_"You too, darling! Bye!"_

_The line clicked and Julia reached for the new oxygen sensor box to open it. Just then the garage door to the house opened and Julia watched her father's shoes walk across the floor._

_"Julia?" he called out._

_Julia got the new sensor out. "Uh huh?"_

_"Whatcha doin', kiddo?"_

_Julia sighed as she put the new oxygen sensor in and started screwing it in. "Working on the car."_

_"Oh yeah?" he asked, his feet now near Julia's knees. "You figure out what was wrong with it?"_

_"Hopefully," she said, grabbing the wrench and clasping it onto the new sensor. "Bad, uh, oxygen sensor."_

_"I see. Well, I hope that helps with the stalling."_

_"It should," Julia said as she started wrenching the new sensor on. "The old one looks pretty worn out."_

_Julia secured the sensor and pulled herself out from underneath the car with her wrench her phone and the old sensor, showing him the old one. "See?"_

_Richard grabbed it and whistled. "Yeah, that looks pretty bad."_

_Julia got up and kicked her creeper away before lowering the car jack. "Yeah, so what's up Pops?"_

_"Oh, just wanted to see what you were up to."_

_Julia tilted her head to one side and put her wrench away before pulling the car jack out. "Oh. Okay. Well, I'm gonna take the car out for a spin, see if uh, see if I fixed the problem."_

_"Sure thing, kiddo," he said, studying the old sensor in his fingers._

_Julia eyed her father. Something was bothering him, it seemed. "You okay, Dad?"_

_"Hmm?" He lifted his head and smiled at her. "Of course. Uh, do you want this as a souvenir?"_

_Julia shook her head. "Naw, just toss it," she said, grabbing her keys and getting into the car. Her door creaked horribly and she cringed. "I need to put some WD-40 on this door," she said absentmindedly._

_Julia turned the engine over and grinned. The car already sounded better. God, she loved being a mechanic._


	25. Playing Pool

Days passed by and Julia was mostly focused on getting her book done which she now had a title for. "The Runway Scandals." She was pretty proud of herself and how much work she had put into the new book. Still, her mind would wander to Benoit and how much of a coward she was and every time it did, she'd take a few minutes to cry. They hadn't spoken in a week and she missed him more and more as the days dragged on.

It was the seventh night now and Julia was in the process of writing her book when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in," she called out.

The door opened with a squeak and Marta popped her head in. "Hey. I have to ask you something."

Julia looked up from her laptop at Marta. "Sure, what's up?"

Marta walked in. "I'm going with some friends to go shoot some pool. Wanna tag along?"

Julia sighed, not really sure if she wanted to go out. "I dunno, Marta. I mean..." Julia rubbed her face. "I'm trying to get this book done and-"

"Oh nonsense." Marta walked over and shut the laptop. "It's Friday, you missed Thanksgiving, and you've been cooped up in here feeling sorry for yourself for a whole week. You need to get out and have some fun, Julia. It'll help lighten your spirits."

Julia frowned. "That's not entirely true. We went out shopping for a new car for you today."

"Yes and I love my new car but that's beside the point. You need to get out and go have fun, so c'mon," Marta said, dragging on Julia's arm. "Stop sulking, take a shower, and let's go."

Julia blew out a raspberry and squinted her eyes at Marta. "You're not gonna drop this, are you..."

"Nope!" Marta replied with a beaming smile. "Now get ready, we're taking my new car."

Julia grunted as Marta left the room. So, that was settled, then. Julia did feel the need to take a break from her writing. After all, she'd gotten a lot done. She turned off her laptop after saving her file and got up to go get ready.

She took her shower, applied makeup, and dressed in a light blue woolen sweater and black jeans. She left her hair down. Julia met up with Marta downstairs and grabbed her read overcoat. When they got outside, it was snowing lightly and Julia wished she'd had her damn hat. At least she had her gloves. They got into Marta's brand new blue CR-V and drove off.

They went into town to a local bar/billiards room called Shooter's. When they got in, Julia looked around. She'd never been here before. There was an oval wooden bar counter, stools, a few tables, multiple pool tables and someone was even playing karaoke. She watched Marta wave at some people and Julia followed her through the small crowd. Julia suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

Benoit was here.

Marta turned to look at her friend with a grin and Julia narrowed her eyes. "Marta, did you know he was going to be here?!" she hissed.

Marta batted her eyelashes innocently. "I may have invited him."

Julia pulled Marta to the side. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you miss him, he misses you and you two need to get back together already. Now c'mon!" Marta said, grabbing Julia and pushing her towards the pool table Benoit was at.

Benoit and Julia locked eyes and she swallowed hard. He was wearing a black turtleneck and blue jeans. The man looked delicious, as usual, and Julia chastised herself for being turned on by him.

"Julia," he said simply.

"Benoit," she said back.

He looked happy to see her, yet there was a sad longing in his eyes that Julia definitely took notice of.

 _"I hate seeing him like this,"_ she thought.

"How are you?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'm okay. And you?"

"I'm okay," he said with a frown.

_"God, please kill me now for hurting this man."_

Marta looked at the both of them and grinned. "I'm going to go get us some pool sticks. I'll be right back."

Marta left the two alone and Julia lowered her gaze away from Benoit. She missed him so much and seeing him just made it worse. Still, despite the circumstances, part of her was ecstatic to see him. A big part of her just wanted to kiss him.

_"Easy, Julia. You cannot just go up and kiss the man."_

"How is your book coming along?" he asked.

"Good," she replied, daring to look at him. "Even came up with a title. "The Runway Scandals"."

Benoit smiled at her. "Sounds like a good name to me."

Julia bit her lip. "Any new cases?"

"A couple. They were easy solves, not very challenging, unfortunately. Your grandfather's case seems to have ruined me," he joked.

Julia giggled then cleared her throat. "I see. So...um, how did Marta get you to come out here?"

"Actually, I was in the need to celebrate. We managed to take Peter into custody today," he said with a grin.

Jukia blinked madly. "You're kidding."

Benoit looked surprised. "You didn't know? Elliot didn't call you?"

"No, he didn't."

A frown formed in his face. "Well, he should have."

Julia looked down at the floor. "Is Emily still at large, then?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. But, she actually poses less of of a threat when it comes to, well..." he paused.

"When it comes to what?"

He looked into her eyes and took a step closer to Julia. "When it comes to me finding out about Alice. She is the less stable of the two and therefore not very organized."

Julia chuckled a little. "So I noticed."

He took another step towards her and the scent of his cologne filled her nostrils.

 _"God damn, he smells so good._ _I've missed his smell,"_ she thought. _"Hell, I miss everything about him."_

"Julia..." Benoit uttered.

She looked up into his bright blue eyes. "Yes?"

"I..." he paused, pulling his hand up but then he let it fall. He looked past her and sighed. "Marta's got the pool sticks."

Julia looked over her shoulder at Marta who was just standing there. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Julia and Benoit replied.

Marta frowned. "Okay. Let's play some pool. Who wants to go first?"

* * *

_Julia was sitting on her bed, staring blankly out the window. She was an emotional wreck after what happened at the party last night. She could still see the look on Alice's face when she stepped off the apartment building. The girl looked broken, and it was all Julia's fault._

_There was a knock on her bedroom door, jerking Julia out of her thoughts._

_"Yeah?" she called out._

_"It's Ransom. Can I come in?"_

_"Sure, I guess," Julia replied, sighing and rolling her eyes._

_The door creaked open and Julia saw Ransom out of the corner of her eye. He looked like he was at a loss. He shut the door and sat next to Julia on the bed._

_"How you holding up?" he asked her._

_Julia scoffed bitterly. "I'm not."_

_"Yeah, I bet," he said glumly. "You wanna talk about it?"_

_Julia felt a tear roll down her cheek and she sniffled. "Alice is dead because of me. I feel like a murderer."_

_Ransom wrapped an arm around Julia and pulled her into his shoulder. "You're not a murderer."_

_"But you heard what I said to her. I might as well have killed her myself. Now Kelly won't talk to me. She said she'd never forgive me for it."_

_"Hey, don't you worry about Kelly. She's to blame for this, you know. She should've been keeping an eye out for her sister, not spending all her time making out with Zachary Gordon. If you ask me, Alice shouldn't have even been there."_

_"But Kelly asked me to watch out for her, and what did I do? I berated and embarassed her in front of everyone."_

_Ransom sighed. "Well, sis, I dunno what to tell ya to help you feel better."_

_Julia sniffled and wiped another tear away. "Just sit with me a while?"_

_Ransom nodded and pulled her even closer. "Okay."_

* * *

Julia bent down at the waist as she tried to line up her shot. She was stripes, Marta was solids. Julia moved the pool stick back and forth through her fingers. few times before hitting the cue ball. It hit the orange striped ball and she sunk it in a hole. She smirked and walked around the table, looking for her next target. She picked the red striped ball, aimed her stick, and struck the cue ball. It hit her ball but she didn't sink it.

"Damn," Julia said. "Your turn, Marta."

Marta grinned and examined the table with a quirked brow. While she was doing that, Julia stole a quick glance at Benoit who was patiently seated at a tall table by them, sipping on a beer. She'd never really known him to drink, but then again, he was celebrating. Sort of. He looked her way and she quickly turned away to hide her blushing. Julia didn't want to be caught staring.

"Your turn, Julia," Marta said.

Julia walked around to stand in front of Benoit, bent over and struck the cue ball. She missed her target. Damn.

As she stood, Julia turned to see Benoit's eyes had darkened. Oh shit. It must have been because of her ass and being bent over.

"Sorry," she said bashfully.

"Hmm?" He blinked and looked at her clearly. "What are you sorry for?"

Julia bit her lip and looked out of the corner of her eye. "For, um, bending over in front of you."

Benoit's cheeks turned red. "I...no need to apologize. I did not even notice," he said, clearing his throat.

Julia gave him a sly grin. "Liar," she said, calling him out.

He blushed even more. "I'm sorry. It...it was right there."

Julia sighed. "You don't have to apologize for staring at my ass, Benoit."

"I don't?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Maybe because I like it when you stare at my ass," she said with a wink.

 _"Christ, what the fuck am I doing?"_ she thought, suddenly blushing.

Benoit arched a brow at her and she sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

He suddenly smiled brightly. "I do not mind it when you flirt, Miss Drysdale. Just as long as it is only with me."

Julia smiled warmly at him. "Your turn," Marta said to her.

Julia turned back around and looked at the table. She walked around, bent over and was about to line up her shot when she heard a cat call whistle behind her. She rolled her eyes, stood up straight and turned to the offender. "Did you just whistle at me?"

The guy looked to be in his late thirties, was blonde with a goatee and was considerably tall. He smirked at her. "I might have."

Julia pivoted her hip. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that."

Julia turned back around to line up her shot once more. "Well, maybe if you didn't have such a fine ass, I wouldn't be cat calling you."

Julia stood up again and was about to address the man once more when Benoit walked over with a glare on his face.

"Excuse me, would you mind not offending the lady? I think she has made it quite clear that she is not in the mood for your advances," he said coldly.

The guy looked at Benoit and scoffed. "And who the hell are you supposed to be?"

Julia growled and shook her head. "He's my boyfriend."

Benoit looked at her in shock and the man laughed. "Yeah right. He hasn't touched or kissed you all night."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Well that's because he-"

Benoit yanked Julia to him and kissed her. She immediately returned the kiss heatedly.

_"God dammit, I love you, Benoit."_

Without missing a beat, Benoit ended the kiss, turned to the man and said, "now are you convinced?"

The guy put his hands up and walked away. Julia looked at Benoit in disbelief. "Detective Blanc..."

"I'm sorry, Julia. I was tryin' to deter him from pursuin' you further," Benoit explained.

"Well," she looked in the direction of the guy then looked back at Benoit with a smile. "I suppose I can't be too mad since it worked."

"At least I was allowed a kiss. I've been dyin' to do that all week," he purred.

Julia realized they were still holding each other and she cleared her throat before backing off. "It's uh, ahem, my turn."

She bent over the pool table to take her shot. When she hit the cue ball, she sunk a striped ball. She walked around the table, thinking about where to go next but her eyes quickly drifted to Benoit who was trying to hide a smile. She couldn't help but smile as well before taking another shot. She sunk another ball but scratched.

"Dammit," she said.

Marta and Julia took their respective turns until Marta won the game. Now it was Benoit's turn to play Marta. As Marta racked the balls, Benoit went over to Julia.

"So how much of your book did you get done this week?" he asked her.

"Quite a bit. I'd say I'm a little more than halfway done," Julia replied.

"Ah. Did you do anything for Thanksgiving?"

Julia's head lowered. "...No."

Benoit looked at her, his brow furrowed. "Why not?"

She wasn't going to look at him. She kept her eyes averted to the floor. "Just...wasn't in a Thanksgiving sort of mood, I guess."

 _"Because I miss Benoit too much,"_ she thought.

Benoit frowned, leaning his pool stick in a slot on the table. "Julia, don't you think this has gone on long enough?"

She looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Us being...apart," he said.

Julia sighed. "Benoit, Emily is still out there and I'm still not ready to tell you-"

"I know," he said, taking a step closer and looking into her eyes. "But I miss you so much, Julia. It has been drivin' me absolutely insane being without you."

 _"_ _Boy, you are preaching to the choir,"_ she thought.

Julia lowered her gaze, grabbing his hands and holding them tight. "Benoit, I've been goin' crazy, too. Trust me. But," she looked up at him, "I need more time."

"How much more time?" he asked with a sad tone in his voice.

"I don't know."

Benoit sighed and closed his eyes before opening them. "Okay," he said before dropping her hands.

He grabbed the pool stick and looked at Marta. "You break," she said with a frown.

As Benoit bent over to hit the cue ball, Julia fought tears. She excused herself to go to the bathroom and walked away.

* * *

Benoit broke the triangle and landed a solid colored ball. On the outside, he was calm and collected. On the inside, however, he was deeply upset about the whole situation between him and Julia. It was maddening. It was making him grow impatient. It was making him feel things he didn't want to feel, like anger and frustration.

He didn't usually get mad but he felt like he was at a boiling point.

Benoit struck another solid and sunk it. As he stood up straight to walk around and examine the table, he took some deep breaths and counted to ten in his head.

"I know she's being stubborn right now, Detective, but she'll come around," Marta explained to him.

"I know," he said with a nod. "I am a patient man, Marta, but bein' without her is causin' difficulty to maintain my patience."

Marta quirked the corner of her mouth, looking apprehensively at the detective. "Would it help if I told you that she's in love with you?"

Benoit blinked and looked at Marta. "What?"

"I know it's not my place to say, but this rift between you two is growing tiresome. I mean, all she's been doing is working on her book and staying cooped up in her room. She even skipped Thanksgiving with us."

Benoit looked towards the bathroom. Julia was in love with him? "Did she tell you she loved me?"

"Yes. And it's quite clear to me that you feel the same way about her, Benoit," Marta said with a smile.

"I do," he said absentmindely.

"Then you should tell her."

Benoit looked at Marta with a grin. "You really think that will help patch things up?"

"I can't be certain, but I have high hopes."

Benoit smiled brightly and got another solid ball in but he scratched. As he stood up straight he saw Julia come out of the bathroom...with Mrs. Heller? What was she doing here?

He then noticed the gun pointed at Julia's back and his heart stopped.

* * *

"Just keep moving, Julia," Mrs. Heller said, pushing the gun into Julia's back.

Julia kept walking towards the front door, eyeballing Benoit who was walking to them hurriedly.

"Mrs. Heller, please. This is-" Julia began but was interrupted.

"Just shut up," Mrs. Heller hissed.

Benoit got in front of them just when they were about to leave. "Where do you think you're goin'?" he asked Mrs. Heller.

"Get out of my way or I'll shoot her," Mrs. Heller warned.

"Mrs. Heller, you need to think about what you're doin'," Benoit advised.

"I know what I'm doing!" she shouted.

Julia shut her eyes, wincing at Mrs. Heller's shouting. When she opened them, she looked around. Some people were looking their way to see what the commotion was about. Good. Perhaps some of them could help out. She saw Marta on the phone.

"Now, Mrs. Heller, threatenin' an innocent woman is-"

Mrs. Heller laughed bitterly. "Innocent? Julia's not innocent. No, she's as guilty as they come."

Julia kept her eyes on Marta, frowning out of fear. Hopefully she was calling the cops. Perhaps Benoit could stall Mrs. Heller.

"Mrs. Heller, whatever it is that Julia did, it is in the past and she is no longer that person," Benoit explained.

"Oh my god, that woman has a gun!" someone yelled.

Some people started screaming and backing away while Mrs. Heller kept her eyes on Benoit. "I don't care who she is now. She is responsible for the death of my daughter Alice! Now move aside or I'll shoot her!"

Julia stiffened, feeling the gun being pushed into her back more. Benoit looked conflicted on what to do. Julia held her breath, fearing for her life.

She doubted that she would get out of this situation alive.

* * *

_Ransom and Julia arrived at the party in style having taken the Beemer. Julia was wearing a red spaghetti string tank top, blue jeans and red high heels while Ransom was in a basic blue t-shirt, black pants and brown boots._

_They entered the apartment building and got to the elevator, Julia pushing the button for the 10th floor._

_"You excited, sis?" Ransom asked._

_"Oh, totally," Julia replied. "Say, did Dad seem a little...off today to you?"_

_Ransom made a face. "No, why?"_

_Julia shrugged. "I dunno, when he came into the garage earlier, he seemed...deep in thought about something, I guess."_

_The elevator doors opened and they walked out. "Eh, I'm sure it was nothing," Ransom observed._

_"Probably," Julia said._

_They got to the door with the number 1023 on it, music blaring from the inside. They knocked and eventually the door opened, revealing Ransom's buddy George. He was tall, dark and handsome in Julia's eyes, but he was also a total man whore._

_"Hey Ransom, Julia, come on in!" George said, moving aside so they could walk in._

_The party was in full swing. Some people were already drunk off their asses. Julia noticed a bunch of people she knew. Some were friends, some were acquaintances, but a small few were kids that she actually bullied at school. Huh. What were they doing here?_

_"George, I had no idea you were into charity work," Julia said loudly to him, trying to talk over the music._

_"What do you mean?" he asked loudly. Julia pointed at the small group of unpopular kids and he laughed. "What can I say? I got a soft spot for the less fortunate."_

_Julia giggled and smiled. "I had no idea."_

_George beamed at her and leaned in close. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me. Wanna find out?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her._

_Julia snorted into her hand. "Sorry, but no. I'm just here to drink, man."_

_George frowned playfully. "Man, why do you have to play so hard to get?" he asked as they made their way over to the keg._

_"I'm not playing, I'm just not interested in you," she replied, grabbing a red plastic cup and pumping the keg._

_"Psh, come on. I could show you a real good tine tonight," he flirted._

_"George, you're not going to convince me," she giggled as she filled her cup with beer. "Now shoo, get lost."_

_George laughed, surrendered and walked away to find someone new to flirt with. Julia took a long sip of her beer then spotted Kelly making out with Zachary Gordon, her boyfriend and she rolled her eyes._

_She spotted Alice on the balcony with a few other people and Julia walked over, opening the door and shutting it behind her._


	26. Making Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to sound paranoid or needy, but I haven't really gotten any comments in a while and I was wondering if it's because the story is starting to suck lol.
> 
> Granted, I do write for my enjoyment but, well, even I sometimes like encouragement.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you guys think so far please. Thanks for the previous comments and kudos.

_"Alright," Benoit said, nodding his head and looking at Julia. "You both ready?"_

_He saw Julia give him a nod and they all vacated the car. When they got in the house, Walt and Richard were standing in the foyer and turned around to face the three._ _Already, it looked like some wolves had come for a feast._

_"Oh! Okay. Well, has she come to her senses?" Richard inquored casually._

_Blanc suppressed an eye roll. The nerve._

_"Well, she's standing right there, Richard," Walt said with a raised hand. "She can speak for herself."_

_"Is the rest of the family assembled?" Benoit asked the men._

_"In the living room."_

_"I think it would be better if we were to gather again and get this over with," Blanc said while walking with the two men down the hall to the living room._

_Benoit was absolutely dreading what was to come next. Marta confessing to accidentally killing Harlan and Julia confessing to being an accomplice. He felt bad for the both of them, but he especially felt awful for Julia. The woman he'd fallen in love with was about to go to jail for accessory to murder. Or manslaughter, rather. It's not like Marta intended to kill Harlan. It was an accident._

_"What is this about, exactly?" Linda asked as she entered the room._

_Benoit tucked a hand into his pocket while the other hand scratched at his eyebrow. "Marta and Julia will be makin' an announcement in a few minutes, so just sit tight."_

_"Wait, why is Julia in on this?" Richard asked, looking concerned._

_"You'll just have to wait," Benoit said._

_Linda hmphed and sat down with one of the dogs who had a baseball in his mouth. The detective waited for the rest of the family to arrive in the living room_ _, contemplating his inner thoughts. He was still so confused by this whole case. Yes, it was solved, but something told him that it was not._

_It still felt like a donut._

_Ransom had been spotted by Greatnana, but apparently had mistaken Julia for Ransom. That still did not make sense to him. Yes, they were twins and looked similar in facial structure, eyes and such, but for someone to confuse the two entirely? Now that was something._

_What had Ransom been doing?_

_And why would Fran overdose herself? That part he still couldn't figure out. Had someone else done it to her? If that was the case, who?_

_And furthermore, who the hell hired him? Why would someone hire him? Because they knew a crime had been committed._

"How would they be aware of that, though?" _he thought._

_Strange case, indeed._

_Benoit stared out at the family, a little disgusted by them for the way they had treated Marta the day before. Despite her crime, Marta was a good person._

_And so was Julia._

"Wait, we're missin' someone," _he thought._

_He looked back in the hallway to see Meg Thrombey with Marta and Julia. He made his way towards Miss Drysdale._

_"I still think this is a bad idea, but the family is assembled," Benoit said to them._

_"I know where the tox report is," Marta spoke up suddenly._

_Julia faced Marta. "What? Where?" Then realization formed on her face. "Ooooh. Ha! Clever."_

_Benoit was confused but he followed the women to one of the rooms on the first floor. Marta walked to a cupid clock that was on top of a fireplace and she opened a drawer on it, grabbing a folded up piece of paper._

_"She basically told me where it was," Marta said while giving Benoit the paper. "Anyways, this will tie everything up. And I just handed it to you." She sat on the ledge of the fireplace. "God, you're not much of a Detective, are you?"_

_Blanc heard Julia snort and he looked at Marta with humbled disbelief on his face. "Well, to be fair," he said as he sat next to Marta, "you make a pretty lousy murderer, and you," he looked at Julia, "a lousy accomplice." The girls giggled and Benoit looked Miss Drysdale straight in the eye when he said, "perhaps we deserve each other."_

_Blanc saw Miss Drysdale's face blush and he had to stifle a grin. He loved making her blush._

_T_ _his was going to be very hard on him once she went to jail. However, it was not like she'd be in jail for too long. The maximum sentencing for accessory after the fact was three years. He was certain she'd get out earlier due to good behavior._

_But then what?_

_Could he try to date a criminal? It was hard to see Julia as a criminal, but she was one. This saddened him. He loved her, but to date her? That was another story altogether. It wasn't a matter of judgment, at least not when it came to her. It was more a matter of principal to not date people who'd been to jail._

_The three left the room but when they reached the entrance to the living room, Benoit grasped Julia's arm and gently pulled her back._

_"Detective?" she asked, looking at him with puzzlement. "What is it?"_

_With a deep set frown, Blanc looked at her. "I...I only wish we had met under different circumstances. That things weren't like this," he stammered._

_Miss Drysdale smiled at him sadly and held his hand. "Me too, Benoit."_

_As she walked away, the warmth of her hand lingered on Benoit's fingers._

_That was the first time she'd called him by his first name._

* * *

Benoit Blanc stared into Mrs. Heller's face with a touch of anger. He was trying to keep his cool but Julia's life was on the line here.

"Mrs. Heller," he said, holding up his palms in surrender. "Do not do anything rash, please. Let her go and let us talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Mrs. Heller snarled. "Don't you know what she did?"

"No, I do not," he replied coolly.

Benoit noticed Marta coming up from behind Mrs. Heller, then looked back at the lady. What was Marta thinking about doing? He also noticed some people had their phones out and were recording this. It made him want to scold all of them.

Mrs. Heller scowled with a bitter laugh. "Ha! She didn't have the guts to tell you what she did?"

Benoit stared at his ex-girlfriend and saw the look of horror on her face. Julia was afraid, though he wasn't sure what she feared more: losing her life or having her secret found out. Marta was inching closer behind but Benoit kept his eyes on Julia, not wanting to give Marta away. He vaguely spotted the cue ball in Marta's hands and wondered if that would be enough to subdue Mrs. Heller.

"Whatever she did, Mrs. Heller, it doesn't hold much ground with me. That's not who she is now," Benoit stated in a low, angry drawl.

 _"Come on, Marta. Hurry up and hit her!"_ Benoit thought.

Marta inched closer and closer and Benoit feared that someone might alert Mrs. Heller of the impending attack, but his worries were unfounded as Marta raised her hand and brought the ball down on Mrs. Heller's skull with a crack. People gasped, causing a slight uproar while Mrs. Heller faltered so much that she dropped the gun and staggered enough for Julia to get away, but instead, she grabbed the gun and aimed it at Mrs. Heller.

This shocked Benoit.

Mrs. Heller recovered and felt the back of her head, pulling her hand back to show blood on her fingers.

"You little _bitch!"_ she shouted at Marta.

"Call her that again and I'll shoot you in the god damn knee cap!" Julia snarled.

Mrs. Heller glared at Julia. "You won't get away with this!" she hissed.

Julia jutted her jaw to the side and scoffed. "This isn't about me getting away with anything!"

"You killed my daughter!"

"Oh please! It's not like I shoved her off the building! She jumped off!"

"Because you told her she should kill herself! You bullied her!"

Benoit's jaw dropped a little. Julia did _what?_

Julia closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them. "Yes, and for that, I am sorry. But at the time, I didn't think she would actually-"

"But she did!" Mrs. Heller interrupted with a growl.

"I tried to stop her from doing it!" Julia snapped angrily.

Mrs. Heller's faced softened for a moment. "You're a liar!"

Julia sighed. Clearly she was trying to calm herself down but Benoit knew she was having difficulty doing that. He slowly walked to her and rested a hand on her arm.

"Julia, put the gun down," he requested in a soft voice.

"No!" she snapped, looking at Benoit. "I'm _sick and tired_ of people coming after me!" She turned her attention back to Mrs. Heller. "I tried to talk her out of it, Mrs. Heller. I'm not lying about this!"

"I don't believe you!" Mrs. Heller roared. "I didn't believe you then and I don't believe you now!"

"She and I were the only ones on top of the building. No one else heard what transpired but I swear to God himself that I tried to stop her," Julia said, her lip trembling. "And Kelly? She was barely paying attention and didn't even bother to go after Alice on that roof, but I did!"

* * *

_Julia quickly ran up the stairs, chasing Alice. Alice had ran from the party after their...confrontation, but Julia regretted her words right after it. Kelly had still been too busy with her boyfriend to really care and for that, Julia was pissed._

_"Alice, wait!" Julia yelled. "I didn't mean it! I swear!"_

_Alice wasn't listening, but joe could she? It's not like Alice could actually hear Julia on account of being deaf. She just kept running up the stairs. Julia was having a hard time keeping up._

_Alice reached the roof door and opened it before running out. Julia started taking two steps at a time, deeply out of breath, and eventually reached the top. As she opened the door and ran out, she looked around. Alice was now standing on the edge of the roof._

_"Oh shit!" Julia ran to her. "Alice_ _!"_

_Julia knew Alice couldn't hear her, but she yelled her name anyway._ _Alice turned to face Julia, tears streaming down her face._

_"Alice, I'm sorry I said all that stuff. I didn't mean it," Julia said, waving a hand about as she spoke both from her mouth and in sign language. "Now...now come down from there. Please."_

_Alice shook her head and sniffled, raising her hands and performing sign language._

_"I have been wanting this for a while now. I am a freak, just like you said," Alice said with her hands, mouthing her words._

_Julia gulped and shook her head. "No, you're not a freak, Alice. You may be deaf, but you're not a freak. I shouldn't have said any of that stuff to you and I shouldn't have goaded everyone else to tease you," Julia pleaded, tears_ _threatening to fall._

_Alice spoke in sign language again. "I hate my life. This is what I want."_

_Julia took a hesitant step forward. "Alice,_ _don't do this. Let's just talk about th-"_

_Before Julia could finish signing her sentence, Alice, with a look of defeat on her face, took a step back off the ledge and jumped off._

_"NO!" Julia yelled as she ran to the edge._

_She leaned over just in time to see Alice land on the ground and Julia screamed. She turned and ran to the roof door, opening it and running quickly down the stairs._

_When she got to the bottom, she shoved the door open and ran towards the entrance. Julia burst through the doors and looked to right to see a crowd had gathered. She ran and pushed through the crowd. When she saw Alice's dead body on the ground, blood pooling around her head, she covered her mouth and started to cry._

* * *

Julia, still with her gun aimed at Mrs. Heller, eyeballed Benoit. "Well, now you know my secret," she said, not even caring anymore if he knew or not.

She didn't care much about anything anymore except about people chasing her down like a fox being hunted by hounds. She was absolutely sick of it.

"Now, if you ever try to attack me again, I'll kill you myself," Julia threatened lowly.

Mrs. Heller merely narrowed her eyes at Julia. "You bitch, I should've shot you in the bathroom!"

Benoit rested a hand on Julia's shoulder. "Julia, please put the gun down."

Julia wasn't really listening. The only thing that she was focusing on was the threat in front of her. Julia was mad as hell and not thinking straight, but again, she did not care at all.

"Julia. The cops will be here any minute and it won't look good if they see you pointin' a gun at someone," Benoit explained.

"I don't give a fuck. I'm tired of people trying to kill me," she growled.

"Chickapen...please."

Julia blinked. Calling her chickapen helped calm her down a little. "You're still calling me that even after knowing what you know now?"

"Yes. Now please put the gun down." Julia hesitated, but she lowered the gun and handed it to Benoit. He took it and put it in his waistband, looking at Mrs. Heller. "Now as for you, Mrs. Heller, I suggest you-"

The door to the bar opened and a couple cops walked in with their guns out. "Alright, everyone put your hands up," one of them said. Everyone did as they were told. "Good, now...what's going on here?"

Julia motioned her head towards Mrs. Heller. "This lady threatened me with her gun and tried to kidnap me."

Mrs. Heller glared at Julia. "This isn't over yet. My husband and Emily are still free and they will finish you off, Julia."

Julia looked at the woman with wide eyes. "You're working with Emily on this?"

As one of the cops came over and handcuffed Mrs. Heller, she smiled evily. "They will get you, Julia. You have my word on that."

* * *

After Mrs. Heller was arrested and the cops took everyone's statements, people were allowed to leave. Julia was over by Marta's car going over things in her head.

Mr. Heller and Emily had joined forces to bring Julia down. How had they even met? Maybe Emily saw them on the news? That had to be it.

Benoit and Marta came walking over to Julia and he sighed heavily. "How are you doing?" he asked.

Julia scoffed and shook her head, closing her eyes. "Just worn down from all this bullshit," she replied bitterly.

She opened her eyes and saw Benoit frown at her. "I'm sorry," he said.

Julia sighed and rubbed her face. "I'm so tired."

"Yeah, we should get going," Marta commented.

A frown appeared on Benoit's face. "Julia, can we talk for a minute?"

Before Julia could respond, Marta unlocked her car, getting in and shutting the door. Julia crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Benoit apprehensively. What could he want to talk about? He knew her secret now and he probably wanted nothing to do with her.

"Go ahead," she said.

Benoit took a step towards her. "Can we _please_ get back together?"

Julia's eyes widened. "You still want to? Even though you know what I did to Alice?"

Benoit cupped her face and grinned. "Yes."

"But...but why? How could you still want me after-"

"Julia Drysdale, the depth of my affection for you puts the Mariana Trench to shame," he said lovingly, stroking her lip with his thumb.

Julia leaned into his touch, her eyes softening as she looked into his eyes. "What...what are you saying, Benoit?"

"I'm in love with you."

Her jaw dropped. "...What?"

Benoit chuckled lightly. "It's true. You captured my heart the day I met you."

Julia's jaw dropped further then she broke into a big smile. "Holy shit," she breathed.

He let out a big belly laugh. Julia couldn't take the smile off her face. Benoit loved her. He really loved her. She couldn't be happier about the very welcome news. She grabbed his coat collar, pulled him to her and pressed her lips to his. Benoit grabbed her face and groaned against her mouth.

"I love you, Benoit..." she whimpered.

"Mmm, does this mean we, mmm, are back together?" he asked, kissing her between words.

"Mmm, yeah."

"Good. Now, mmm, will you please come...mmmmm, come home?"

Julia nodded as they continued kissing. "Yes, I'll come home."

As much as Julia wanted to get going, she couldn't stop herself from kissing Benoit still. It was impossible at that point. However, when someone cleared their throat, it got Julia and Benoit's attention.

"Sorry to interrupt, but can we get going? You both will catch your death out here in the snow," Marta surmised with a bright grin.

"Right," Julia giggled. "Benoit, let me go back to Marta's. I'll pack my things and meet you back at your place."

Benoit pressed his forehead to hers. "Or you could come home with me right now and grab your belongings tomorrow."

"I could but I also need my car," she said. "I have a thing I gotta do in the morning."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I'm going on a radio show to promote my book."

Benoit blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said. "Jessica said my popularity has grown a ton since all this stuff started, so...they want to talk about my book and the other shit that's been going on."

"Didn't you say Jessica was just a literary agent?"

"She's also my publicist."

"Oh," Benoit said, rubbing her arms. "Well, I better let you get goin'. I'll have a surprise waitin' for you back at my place."

Julia grinned and placed a kiss on his lips. "Can't wait."

They walked around to the other side of the car and Benoit opened the door for her. She chuckled at the motion. Always a gentleman, this one.

"Just be careful driving around with all this snow," he said as Julia got in.

"We will. Besides, I went back to my house and grabbed Commander so she'll be good driving through the snow."

Benoit blinked. "It's a she?"

"Yup."

He laughed and gave her another kiss. "Alright, I'll let you guys go."

He shut the door and Julia looked at Marta who was smirking at her. "What?" Julia asked.

"You two were made for each other," Marta replied with a smile.

Julia chuckled and buckled her seatbelt. "Just drive," she groaned.

* * *

As the girls drove off, Benoit went over to his car, unlocked it and got in. He needed to hurry if he was going to have her surprise ready.

He drove to the local Walmart and looked through the aisles for some scented candles. Benoit had no idea which ones she liked but he picked out vanilla and lavender ones. He put those in his basket and rushed over to the area where there were flowers. He grabbed a dozen roses and put those in his basket, then he hurried through the store to the grocery section and grabbed red grapes, red wine, olives, a baguette, a small variety of cheese and cured meats, and two bars of dark chocolate.

This was going to be their fourth date and he was going to make it as romantic as possible. Tonight, Benoit was _finally_ going to make love to his girlfriend because he'd waited long enough.

As he was in the check-out line, his phone beeped and he pulled it from his pocket. It was a text from Julia.

_I'm almost done packing up my things. I'm going to shower so I may be a bit, but it shouldn't be longer than an hour and a half. I love you._

Benoit smiled brightly and typed in a response.

_Take all the time you need. I need time to prepare your surprise, anyway. I love you too._

He sent the text and put the phone back in his pocket just as he came up to the conveyor belt. He began taking things out and putting them on the belt. The cashier, a petite little woman with long blonde hair, started ringing things up.

"Hot date tonight?" she asked Benoit.

He chuckled lightly. "Yes, very much so."

"Well, she seems like a lucky girl," the woman said as she rang up the flowers.

"I would certainly hope so," Benoit chortled.

The woman smiled and rang up the rest of his items, then Benoit put them in bags, save for the bouquet of roses, and walked out of the store. He got to his car, unlocked it and put the bags in the back. He put the roses up front then got in the driver seat.

He put on music as he made his way home, singing along to it. He tapped the steering wheel to the beat as he sang. Benoit knew he wasn't the best singer but he stayed in key, at least.

When Benoit got home, he started preparing for a romantic picnic. He found his picnic basket and started putting things in it, then he got out a cutting board and a knife to cut the various cheeses he purchased. After that, he sliced up the baguette. His phone buzzed and he looked at it.

_Leaving now_ _. See you soon, lover boy._

He laughed and started typing.

_See you soon, chickapen._

Benoit sent the text, put the phone down and continued preparing the little snacks. Once done, he rolled up the cheese and baguette slices in a cloth and put them in the basket. This was going to be a wonderful night.

Benoit grabbed a blanket from his closet and fluffed it out, walking to the living room and setting it down on the floor. He grabbed the picnic basket and two wine glasses, then set the basket and glasses on the blanket. He walked to his vintage record player and looked in his collection of records.

"Hmm, where is it?" he asked himself, having a particular record in mind.

Then he found it. Roberta Flack's Greatest Hits. He put it on the record player and started playing it. The first song was "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love," but that wasn't the song he wanted to play once Julia got there. Still, he played it.

And then all he had to do was wait. And he waited. And waited. And waited.

By the time the song Benoit wanted came on, he stopped the record player and looked out his balcony window, waiting for Julia to show up. What was taking her so long? He got out his phone and called her. After three rings, it went to voicemail. When it beeped, he started talking.

"Julia, honey, I know it's snowing out and you're driving a little slow, I hope, but I'm calling to make sure everything is alright. I love you, bye," he said before hanging up.

Another twenty minutes went by and she still didn't show. Now he was really beginning to worry so he called again. It went straight to voicemail.

"Chickapen, please call me back. I'm starting to get antsy here. Is everything okay? I love you."

Benoit hung up the phone and started pacing.

Where was his girlfriend?

Ten minute went by and his phone rang. He immediately looked at it, but Julia wasn't calling. It was Julia's mother, Linda. He picked it up instantly.

"Hello?"

_"Detective, it's Linda Drysdale."_

"Yes, hello Mrs. Drysdale, how are you?"

_"Not good. Marta wanted me to call you."_

"Oh really?" Benoit asked with an arched brow. "What ever for?"

There was a sigh on the other end. _"I'm at the hospital. Julia's been in a car accident."_


	27. The Accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, thanks for the comments on the last chapter. It made my day.
> 
> Also, I know I don't do notes much like some authors do for all their chapters, but I never really know what to say in the notes.
> 
> As for this chapter, I had to do some research about...medical...stuff, so hopefully I got it right. If I got anything wrong, please let me know.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Benoit felt his breath stop for a moment as well as his heart. A horrible feeling went into the pit of his stomach.

"Is she okay?" he asked Mrs. Drysdale.

_"Well, she broke her ankle, some ribs, one of her wrists and knocked her head pretty bad_ _."_

"How bad?"

_"...She's in a coma."_

Benoit's eyes widened and he sat down on the couch. "A coma?"

_"Yes. Would you like to come see her?"_

Benoit quickly got up, grabbed his overcoat and began putting on his shoes. "Yes, I'm leaving now."

_"Alright. We're in room 1625 on the 6th floor."_

"Thank you for calling me, Mrs. Drysdale," Benoit said as he put on his overcoat.

_"You're welcome. We'll see you when you get here."_

Benoit hung up the phone, got out the door, locked it and ran down the hallway.

* * *

_Benoit watched Julia and Marta stand in front of everyone with a frown on his face before looking down at the piece of paper in his hand._

_"You've always been good to me," Marta began._

_Benoit wanted to look at the results merely out of curiosity. He put on his glasses._

_"And what I'm about to say isn't gonna be easy and you're gonna be upset."_

_Benoit opened the piece of paper and skimmed it, looking at the results of the blood work._

_"But I thought after what you've gone through the last few days..."_

_Benoit's mouth parted as he stared at the piece of paper. The blood work was all normal._

_"...that you deserved..."_

_Suddenly Benoit found his central piece. Everything clicked together in his head._

_"...to hear it from me."_

_Benoit walked slowly over to the two girls._ _"I-"_

_"Excuse me!" Benoit said, ripping his glasses off and walking into the living room._

_Everyone looked at Benoit in confusion as he was still gathering all the puzzle pieces in his head. The arc's terminus had finally revealed itself and in his mind, he went running towards it._

_"You have not been good to her," Benoit snarled with a disgusted look on his face. "You have all treated her like shit to steal back a fortune that you lost and she deserves! You're a pack of vultures at the feast! Knives out, beaks bloody! Well," Benoit took a sharp breath, "you're not gettin' bailed out, not this time! Miss Cabrera has decided, definitively, not to renounce the inheritance."_

_"What?" Walt said in disbelief._

_"What?" both Julia and Marta said in shock._

_"And furthermore," Benoit said, pointing his finger about, "it will be my professional recommendation to the local authorities that the manner of death in the case of Harlan Thrombey is ruled as suicide!" Benoit exclaimed with a fierceness in his voice. "And the case is closed."_

_"Blanc?" Marta asked in confusion._

_"Thank y'all for comin'. Goodbye," the detective said. He looked at Julia and Marta, grabbed them and pulled them out of the living room._

_"What's going on? Just tell me."_

_"Just hold on a second, I'll explain in a minute," he said, dragging both the women to the parlour room._

_He gave Julia a grin and he couldn't be happier in that moment. Marta didn't murder anyone and Julia was not an accomplice: they were both innocent._

_And the one responsible? It was Ransom._

_"I just wanna come clean, okay?" Marta begged. "It's over."_

_"Almost," he said with a hand raised. He smiled at Julia and gave her hand an affectionate but brief kiss. "The game is still afoot, Watson."_

* * *

Benoit arrived at the hospital in record time. He parked in a parking ramp, got out, almost forgot to lock his car and ran through the area to the building. He got on an elevator, pushing the button for the 6th floor. As the elevator whirred and Benoit felt it move, he tried to recover his breath. His heart was beating so fast, too.

The elevator dinged and Benoit got out, looking around at the room numbers. He went to the desk and looked at the nurse sitting behind it.

"Excuse me, which way to room 1625?" he asked.

The nurse looked at him and directed him to go left. Benoit thanked her and went walking down the hallway, passing by the room numbers quickly. The hallway curved and eventually he saw the Thrombey family and Marta in the family waiting room along with Lieutenant Elliot. What was he doing here?

Benoit walked into the area, trying his best to remain calm. "So, uh...how is she?"

Joni raised a brow. "Detective Blanc...what are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

Meg rolled her eyes. "He's dating Julia, Mom."

Joni looked at Meg. "But I thought they broke up?"

Benoit sighed. "We got back together earlier this evening."

Joni looked at Benoit and made an "oh" face. "I see."

Just then, Lieutenant Elliot came up to him. "Ah, Benny. Um, we need to talk.

Benoit blinked. "Elliot. Why are you here, if I may ask?"

Elliot sighed deeply. "Well, the circumstances of Miss Drysdale's accident...it seems someone ran her off the road."

Benoit took a deep, shaky breath and leaned his hand against the wall. "Oh Lord...let me guess. A big black pick up truck?"

"Mmhmm."

"Wait, the same truck that chased her through South Boston a while back?" Linda asked as she walked to them both.

"The very same," Elliot replied.

Benoit shut his eyes and turned around, feeling the urge to punch something. "How do you know the truck ran her off the road?" he asked as he turned back around.

"There were some witnesses. Truck was chasing her down and collided into the side of Miss Drysdale's CR-V...and due to the slippery roads, Julia lost control of her car. It...rolled down a hill, Benny."

"...Shit," Benoit said.

"Yeah, and that's not the worst of it," Elliot commented with regret in his voice. "The witnesses observed a woman getting out of the vehicle and tossing a Molotov cocktail on Julia's car."

"Oh Jesus!" Benoit nearly shouted, pure agony overcoming his voice.

"If it wasn't for those witnesses, Julia would be dead by now. They got her out of the car just in time," Elliot explained.

"Did she get burned at all?"

"No."

Benoit sighed in relief. "But she's in a coma right now."

"Yeah. It...it doesn't look good, Benny."

Benoit's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Linda looked down. "Doctor said she's got some swelling in the brain and...she might not make it."

Benoit's face dropped and all the blood drained from it. "Wh-what? No no no, no...that can't be...that..."

"She's in surgery right now, though. They're gonna try to stop the swelling."

Benoit rubbed his face, feeling woozy. "I must sit down," he said, brushing past them and sitting in a chair. He elbowed his knees, leaned over and held his head in his hands. "I need to...Jesus..."

Benoit felt absolutely horrible. His girlfriend was in a coma and she might die. No, this would not do. He knew Julia was a fighter and he had faith that she would make it. She had to. If she didn't, Benoit had no idea what he would do. He couldn't have just gotten her back only to lose her again.

"Do you want some water or anything?" Meg asked him.

Benoit nodded and Meg got up to go get him something to drink. Elliot crouched down in front of Benoit and sighed.

"Benny, we are gonna get Emily and she is gonna go to jail, alright? I'll make sure of it. Personally."

"Who's Emily?" Walt asked.

"My ex. The one who has been trying to kill Julia," Benoit uttered sadly.

"Your ex?!" Linda shouted. "Your ex is behind this whole thing?!"

"Yes, and apparently she's been in cahoots with the Heller family, too," Elliot said.

"Oh for crying out loud," Richard exclaimed madly. "This is such horseshit."

"Richard..." Linda said. "Calm down."

"No, I won't calm down! If it wasn't for you, Benoit, Julia would be fine right now!"

Benoit felt a lump in his throat. Perhaps this was his fault. If he had just stayed away, Julia wouldn't be on the verge of dying right now.

"Don't blame him, Richard," Linda said. "This isn't his fault. It's his stupid ex's fault."

Benoit sat up straight and wiped his mouth as Meg came back with some water. "Here you go," she said, handing him the cup.

"Thank you," he said, draining the cup entirely. "I should've insisted further on her comin' home with me."

"What do you mean?" Joni asked.

"Well, I asked her to come back to my place inmediately but she said she needed her car the next morning because she was doing a radio show interview tomorrow. I...I should've made her come with me."

Marta came and sat next to Benoit. "This isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for this."

Just then, Jessica, Julia's publicist, came running down the hallway. She slowly came back and walked into the waiting area.

"I came as soon as I heard. How is she?" Jessica asked.

"How did you hear about this?" Benoit asked.

"Her accident is all over the news and the internet."

Elliot turned to face Jessica. "What?"

Jessica pulled out her phone, started typing something in, then showed the phone to everyone. It was security cam footage of the accident. Everyone huddled over to look as they watched the truck hit Julia's car and roll down the hill. Then they saw Emily get out of the truck, light a bottle with a rag on fire and throw it at the CR-V.

"Oh my god," Linda said, gasping.

It then showed the truck driving away and some people running down the hill. Benoit saw them trying to get Julia out of the car. Eventually her body was dragged out of the burning car by a man while someone else was recording on their phone.

"Jesus," Elliot said. "Look, we got the license plate number on the truck," he pointed out.

Benoit lowered his head, thankful that Julia wasn't burned alive. Still, it was a hard thing to watch. He looked at Elliot with narrowed eyes.

"Lieutenant..." Benoit began. "You better find Emily before I do. Because if I locate her first, I'll-"

"Don't finish that sentence, Benoit," Elliot said, pulling out his notepad. "Can you go back to where the truck is in view, Miss?"

* * *

Benoit, Marta and the Thrombey family waited in the waiting area for what seemed like hours. Benoit was pacing back and forth, biting on his thumbnail. People had tried to encourage him to sit down but he refused. He couldn't sit or stand still about this.

It was at that point when a doctor in blue scrubs came into the area. "Are you the Thrombeys?" he asked.

"Most of us," Walt replied. "Is Julia gonna be okay?"

The doctor smiled. "She survived the surgery and we stopped the swelling."

"Oh thank God," Donna said.

"She is stable for now, but she's still in a coma. All we can do for that is wait, but I'd say she's gonna pull through."

Benoit took a few deep breaths of relief. "Can we see her?" he asked the doctor.

"We just got her settled back in her room, so yes."

"Thank you, doctor," Linda said.

"Yes, thank you," Richard repeated.

Benoit and everyone else thanked the doctor and he left. Benoit immediately left the area and went looking for room 1625. When he found it, he took a deep breath, put his hand on the door handle and opened the door.

He was not quite prepared for what he saw next.

Julia was lying on the bed in a hospital gown, a white blanket covering her from the waist down. She had a nasty bruise on the side of her face, a swollen eye, and part of her head had been shaved. There were stitches on the shaved part. She was hooked up to a ventilator and a tube was sticking out of her mouth while another tube was in her nose. There was a bag full of a clear liquid hanging up beside her hooked to a tube that was attached to the top of her hand.

As he walked in to examine her more, the heart monitor beeping to show her heart rate, he noticed an ace bandage wrapped around her other wrist, hand and arm. They must've not gotten around to putting a cast on yet.

Benoit pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, putting a hand on her arm.

"Oh God, Julia..." he whispered.

Seeing Julia like this knotted up his insides and made him feel like he was going to throw up. But he did not. Instead he just sat there, looking at her bruised face.

"Benoit," Marta said behind him. "She's gonna be okay."

"I know, but I just want her to wake up."

* * *

For the next four days, Benoit spent his time in the hospital. People came and went, but Julia's parents and Marta were also there most of the time.

Benoit went home once to shower, grab some clothes and some books so he could read while time passed by. Other than that, to eat and use the bathroom, he never left her side.

He spent a good portion just talking to her unconscious form, updating her on the situation with Emily and the Hellers, and occasionally reading her own books to her and commenting on them for her benefit.

He was in the middle of critiquing "The Cold and Damp," chuckling to himself as he did. After all, he did read romance novels.

"I don't understand why you had the doctor kiss her patient so early in the book, Miss Drysdale, but I submit it must be for a reason," he said outloud. "But I like her friend Michael. He seems like a good guy, but I think he might have a crush on your main character. That won't do for the recovering police officer, will it..."

Benoit went back to reading silently for a few minutes before shutting the book. He wanted to actually read to her, but not one of her own books. No, he wanted to read a book she didn't know. He set "The Cold and Damp" down into his bag and roamed around for another one.

"Hmm, let's see...ah, how about this one?" he asked. "Outlander? I heard this one is really good. It involves time travel. I think you might enjoy this one."

Just then, Benoit heard the door open and he turned around to see Richard walking in.

"Ah, Mr. Drysdale," Benoit greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Richard replied, walking over to the bed. "How's my kiddo doing?"

"Same as before," Benoit said with a sigh.

Richard huffed. "That sucks."

"Yes."

Richard cleared his throat. "Listen, um...about the other day when I blamed you, I'd like to apologize for that."

Benoit arched a brow in confusion, not expecting this. "You do?"

"Yeah," he said, grabbing a chair and scooting it across the floor to sit next to Benoit. "I know it's not your fault that Julia's...in this condition. I was just...really mad about the whole situation," Richard said, rubbing his palms together gently while leaning over.

"Understandable, Mr. Drysdale."

Richard nodded and looked at the book in Benoit's hand. "What's that?"

"Hmm?" Benoit looked at the book. "Oh, just a book I was about to read to Julia."

Richard jerked his head. "What's it about?"

"It's about a woman from the 1940's who gets sent back in time two hundred years."

"Huh. Interesting."

Just then another person entered the room. Both Richard and Benoit looked back to see a nurse come in.

"Hello, just here to check on Miss Drysdale," the nurse said, a male in his mid twenties with short brown hair and blue eyes.

He walked over to Julia and began checking her vitals. Benoit watched the man carefully. "How is she doing?" he asked.

"Hmm, no changes as far as I can see, sir," the nurse said. "I should only be a few minutes checking her over."

Benoit sighed and looked at Richard. "So, you hungry?" Richard asked him.

Benoit nodded. "I could eat."

"Let's go get some lunch downstairs."

Benoit nodded, put the book down and stood up, walking over to Julia and kissing her cheek.

"I'll be back, chickapen," he said before walking with Richard to the door. Just as the two men were about to walk out the door, Benoit heard a groan. Benoit and Richard turned around to look at Julia. "What's happening?" Benoit asked.

"I think she might be waking up." The nurse bent over to look at Julia's face. "Miss Drysdale? Can you hear me?"

Benoit and Richard hurried back over to the side of Julia's bed. Her eyes started fluttering a bit and a very soft, almost inaudible groan came out of her. Benoit's eyes went wide.

"Chickapen?" Benoit said.

Julia's eyes fluttered more and another groan came out of her. Then slowly, but surely, her eyes opened and she blinked a few times while looking around. Her eyes seemed unfocused, like she wasn't really seeing anything until her eyes landed on the nurse.

"Julia, can you hear me? Blink once if you can hear me," the nurse said.

Julia slowly shut her eyes then opened them. Benoit cheered internally and Richard started laughing. "Atta girl, Julia!" Richard exclaimed.

Julia's eyes suddenly widened and she lifted up her arms in a clumsy manner to reach for her breathing tube, trying to pull it out, but the nurse grabbed both her casted arm and her good arm to stop her.

"Julia, I know it feels uncomfortable but you cannot take the tube out of your mouth, okay?" the nurse said. The heart monitor started going off and Julia looked as if she was panicking. "Julia, I need you to calm down, okay?"

Tears formed in her eyes and Benoit grabbed her hand. "Chickapen, listen to the nurse, okay?"

Julia moaned again and looked at Benoit slowly, tears now falling from the corners of her eyes. She looked frightened so Benoit kissed her hand.

"I'm here, Julia. So is your dad," Benoit whispered.

"Hey kiddo," Richard said.

Julia looked over at her father and blinked, her eyes still wide. She tried reaching for the tube again but both the nurse and Benoit held her hands down. The heart monitor was still going off.

"Julia, you have to calm down," the nurse said. "You need to relax. Everything is fine, and you are fine, okay?"

Julia's eyes fluttered again before shutting. The heart monitor stopped beeping like crazy and soon her heart rate went back to normal. Benoit sighed and lowered his head to her shoulder before looking at her again. Julia was unconscious once more.

"Is she back in a coma?" Richard asked.

"Well, yes and no. She's coming out of it but awareness comes in intervals. Over the next few days she'll wake up more and more."

Benoit smiled at the nurse. "But she is coming out of it. That's good, right?"

"Of course. And considering she tried to take out her tube, I'd say that's excellent."

"Why would that be excellent?" Richard asked with a sour face.

"Sometimes a coma patient will lose their ability to move for a while. She's lucky."

Richard huffed a happy sigh and looked at Benoit. "I'm gonna go call Linda and tell her the good news."

Benoit watched Richard leave and he sat back down next to Julia, holding her hand. He had high hopes for her recovery now that she'd woken up, even if it was just for a few minutes.

* * *

The next couple of days went by with Julia going in and out of consciousness and Benoit left once for a shower and another bunch of clothes. When he got back, he resumed sitting in his usual chair by Julia's side before grabbing Outlander to read to her.

A few chapters later, Benoit heard Julia moan. He set the book down after inserting a bookmark and scooted closer to her.

"Chickapen? Are you wakin' up?" Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at Benoit. She blinked a few times and reached for him. He took her hand and kissed it. "Hi," he said.

Julia blinked again and tried to talk but she couldn't. A confused look formed on her face.

"Sorry, Julia, but you're currently on a ventilator and cannot speak."

Julia groaned and lifted her hand from his, making a writing motion with her fingers. Benoit smiled and scooched back to look through his bag of things. He pulled out a small notepad and pen, got close to Julia once more and handed the items to her. As she began scribbling something down, she looked at her wrist cast and blinked before looking at Benoit.

"You broke your wrist. And your ankle. And some ribs."

Julia finished writing and showed him the pad.

_How the fuck did that happen_ _?_

Benoit guffawed loudly. "Well, at least your personality is still together." Julia rolled her eyes at him. "You were in a car accident, Julia."

Her eyes went wide. Benoit was told by the doctors that she would have some memory loss going on so the next thing she wrote down didn't surprise him.

_Was I in Marta's car? Is she okay?_

Benoit sighed. "Marta's fine and was not with you. You were driving Commander when it occurred."

Julia scrunched up her brows and wrote something else down before showing him.

_I don't remember that._

"I expected as much. The doctors said you were gonna suffer from some short term memory loss."

Julia wrote another thing down.

_Is Commander okay?_

__

__Benoit frowned at her. "No, she isn't. Thing is, chickapen, it...well, it was on fire when people pulled you from the wreckage."

Julia's eyes widened once more and she scribbled something else after turning to a fresh page.

_How did it catch on fire?_

Benoit rubbed his face and took a deep breath. "Emily ran you off the road and threw a Molotov cocktail at your car."

Julia groaned and wrote again.

_Your ex is really pissing me off._

"Me too," Benoit said. "And the cops still haven't caught her yet."

_Let's not talk about that crazy bitch anymore. Why am I on a ventilator?_

"Because you were in a coma."

_A coma? For how long?_

"About four days. You've been here almost a week."

Julia turned to a new page.

_Jesus Christ, why me?!_

Benoit laughed loudly. "I don't know, chickapen."

Julia looked around a bit before writing something else down.

_I_ _think I was dreaming while I was under. I kept hearing voices, especially yours. It was like you were narrating my dreams._

Benoit smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'm so glad you heard me, chickapen. I was talking and reading to you."

_Were my parents here?_

"Everyone was here. Your family, Marta...even Jessica came by a few times."

Julia swiped to a fresh page.

_My head hurts a lot. Did I get a concussion?_

Benoit frowned and held her hand again. "You had to have surgery on your brain, Julia. There was some swelling and they had to fix it."

Suddenly Julia started crying and she covered her eyes with her fingers after dropping the pen and notepad. Benoit frowned deeper and kissed her cheek.

"It's okay. The doctors think you're gonna be just fine despite all that," he murmured. "Please don't cry."

Julia sobbed a little bit longer before wiping her eyes and looking at Benoit. She reached around for her notepad and pen but he found them for her and gave them to her. She started scribbling again and showed him what she wrote.

_When can I get this fucking ventilator out? I want to_ _kiss you and never stop._

Benoit cackled while throwing his head back. "You crack me up." He looked at her once more with a smile. "Once the doctors are certain you can breathe on your own, they'll take it out."

_Can you go get them now? This thing is so uncomfortable. And pain medicine. I need it so bad._

Benoit chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Sure thing. I'll be back shortly," he said before leaving the room in search for a doctor.


	28. The Best Boyfriend

After Benoit made a call to the Drysdales to inform them that Julia was not only conscious but coherent, he got a doctor and some nurses to come in to give Julia pain medication and to remove the breathing tube. They had to run some tests first but Julia passed all the tests with flying colors.

"Okay, Julia, I'm doctor Peterson," the doctor said. "I need you to lie still and relax. We're ready to take this thing out, okay?"

Julia nodded a little and Benoit held her hand as the doctor removed the tape holding the tube in place. Benoit watched as they used a type of suctioning tool to clear out her mouth and airways of debris, then they deflated some type of balloon that was built into the endotracheal tube.

"Okay, now again, relax, but I want you to cough when we pull this out. That way, no junk will go into your lungs," Dr. Peterson explained.

Julia gave a small nod and squeezed Benoit's hand tightly. He could tell she was nervous and he brought up her hand to his mouth, kissing it softly.

"It's alright, chickapen. Just relax," he said in a low, soothing voice.

Julia let loose a ragged cough just as they gently pulled out the tube, making Benoit grimace at the sight, and she continued coughing. The doctor and nurses helped her sit up and smacked her back a little to help her out. She eventually calmed down enough to breathe regularly.

"Sorry," she said in a hoarse voice. "My throat hurts."

"Well, you're breathing just fine, but let's keep an eye on it just in case that changes," the doctor said. "And the pain is normal. Your throat is just irritated. Does it hurt to breathe?"

Julia nodded, grasping her throat. "Just a little bit," she replied. "What about this other tube in my nose? What is that?"

"It's a feeding tube. Once we know you're in the clear, we'll remove that too. Now," Dr. Peterson began, looking to one of the nurses. "Let's give her some pain medication."

Julia took a deep breath. "What are you gonna give me?" she asked.

"Just a little bit of morphine," one of the nurses said as they started adjusting her bag to add a morphine drip.

Benoit saw Julia blanche a little and he rubbed her arm. "Hey, it's alright. They know what they're doin'."

Julia nodded at Benoit and grabbed his hand. "Okay, but please not too much. I'd like to be awake if I have visitors."

"Of course," Dr. Peterson said. "Start her off on one milligram, see how she does on that."

The nurses nodded and they finished setting up the morphine drip.

"Okay, now let's see about removing your catheter," the doctor said, pulling down her blanket.

"My catheter?" Julia asked. "I have a catheter?"

"Uh huh. Now, I need you to open your legs just a bit so I can get it out."

Julia blinked at the man. "You guys put that in while I was in a coma?"

The doctor chuckled a bit. "Well it was that or let you pee all over the bed."

Benoit smirked a little and Julia groaned before opening her legs. Dr. Peterson pulled down her diaper, went in and started the catheter removal procedure and soon Benoit saw the doctor hold up the catheter. He tossed it into a wastebasket and removed his gloves.

"Now, it's going to be difficult to urinate for at least eight hours but go to the bathroom every once in a while, try to let the urine come out naturally if you can. Don't heavily force it."

Julia nodded and started situating herself on the bed. "Can I...mmm, sit up for a bit? Or walk around, maybe?"

"I wouldn't recommend walking just yet because of the morphine, but yes, you can sit up."

Benoit started fluffing her pillows and one of the nurses adjusted the bed so Julia could sit up. Once Benoit made sure she was comfortable, he thanked Dr. Peterson and the nurses for taking care of his girlfriend. They left, promising to come and check on her breathing every once in a while.

When they were gone, Benoit turned to Julia. "How are you feelin' now, chickapen?" he inquired to her.

"Better. Throat doesn't hurt as much," she replied, still sounding raspy.

Benoit nodded and got real close to her. "Good. Now I can kiss you," he said before placing his lips on hers.

Julia whimpered as she returned the kiss and Benoit growled softly. It felt like it had been ages since he'd kissed her and now that he could, he felt extremely happy about it. He was happy that she was okay, that she was alive.

"Mmm," she said, pulling back a bit. "I love you," Julia whispered.

"I love you too," Benoit answered before kissing her again.

"I really want to get out of this bed," she whined.

"I know, but you heard the doctor," Benoit argued. She pouted at him then looked down at her legs and sighed before trying to grab the blanket. Benoit got up. "No, let me do that," he said.

Julia leaned back with a chuckle. "Mr. Pamper, hmm?"

"You bet," Benoit said with a smile while covering her body back up. "Better?"

"Yeah," Julia yawned. "Oh man, this is some good shit they put me on."

Benoit laughed loudly. "Oh yeah?"

"Mmhmm," she replied with a nod, grabbing his hand. "Hey..."

With a smile, he looked at her. "What is it?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything," she uttered. "You've been so, so good to me and have helped me through so much. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

The sentiment warmed Benoit's heart and he raised her hand to place a kiss on her knuckles. "Repayment is not needed, Julia."

"But there must be something I can do," she said, lifting the side of her mouth up and furrowing her brow. It made her look a little discouraged.

Benoit thought for a few moments about what she could do. He hummed and looked off to the side as ideas ran through his head. Then it came to him and he gazed at her affectionately.

"Promise me you will not leave me again," he whispered lowly. "At least not like you did. No more lettin' other people interfere with our relationship."

A contented sigh came out of Julia and she leaned in to give him a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll never leave you again."

The promise Julia just made warmed his heart further and he looked into her eyes lovingly before kissing her deeply. She pressed her hands to his face to pull him near so he sat on the bed to be closer to her. They proceeded to make out with each other as Benoit put one hand on her back while the other rested on the unwounded side of her face.

"Ahem," someone said.

Benoit and Julia stopped, looking over at the door. Julia's father and mother were standing there. Benoit couldn't help the blush that formed on his face.

"Ah...uh, Mr. and Mrs. Drysdale, hello" he said uncomfortably.

Linda covered her mouth with a chuckle while Richard held up a vase of daisies. "Brought you your favorite, Julia," Richard said with his eyes a little narrowed at her.

"Thank you, Dad," Julia said. "And don't look at me like that. I'm a grown woman and can kiss my boyfriend if I want to."

Richard rolled his eyes and walked to the window. "Yeah, well, that doesn't mean I like walking in on you suckin' face like two hormonal teenagers. But...at least you're up and at 'em."

Benoit's face became more red and he cleared his throat as he watched Richard put the flowers on the windowsill. He felt very embarassed.

"I didn't know daisies were your favorite, Julia," Benoit remarked to change the subject.

Julia grinned at him. "Well now you know."

Linda came walking over and grabbed a chair to go on Julia's free side of the bed. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?" she asked Julia.

"I'm feeling better," she replied. "Awake, and almost pain free."

"Almost?"

"Yeah. They put me on a morphine drip but I asked them not to give me too much. I want to remember visitors coming into my room."

The door opened and Joni and Meg walked in with a vase full of an arranged bouquet of lilies, daisies and roses. "Heeey," Joni said with a smile. "You're awake."

Meg came over and hugged Julia. "So glad that you're okay," Meg said.

"Me too," Julia said happily.

As Joni put the flowers next to the daisies, the door opened once more and Benoit saw Marta walk in. "Hey," Marta said with a smile.

Benoit smiled back. "Hey there, Marta."

People pulled up chairs and sat down, starting to chat away with Julia.

"So what was it like? Do you remember anything from the accident?" Meg asked.

"Not really. Like, there are little pieces here and there but nothing concrete, I guess," Julia explained.

"Did you have any out of body experiences while in a coma?" Joni asked. "I heard that can happen."

Julia tilted her head. "I don't think so, but I do remember hearing you guys talk. It was really weird because the conversations were influencing my dreams."

"Woa," Meg said. "Really?"

"Yeah. It was like I was watching a bunch of movies." Suddenly Julia's face went pale and she touched her head. "Ah, shit," she hissed.

"You okay, chickapen?" Benoit asked.

"I feel a headache coming on."

"You want us to get the doctor?"

"No, I'm...I'm...okay, I think. I think I might need more morphine," she said, reaching for the drip button. She clicked it once, making the dosage go up to two milligrams and after a while, she sighed. "There, that's better already, I think."

She rested comfortably on her bed and grinned. Yeah, she was definitely feeling better. Suddenly she sat up again and took the covers off.

"What's wrong?" Joni asked.

"I think I have to pee," Julia replied.

Benoit chuckled and held out his hands. "Alright, let's get you to the bathroom."

Julia grabbed into the morphine bag pole and dragged it forward as she put her feet to the floor. She looked at her casted foot and sighed.

"I don't know if I can walk with this thing on," she observed.

Benoit stood up. "Alright, then I'll carry you."

Julia gaped at him. "Really? Are you sure?"

Benoit got around to her, put one arm under her legs, the other around her back, and lifted her up easily. "Yes. Now hang on to your medicine pole."

Julia giggled and kissed his cheek. "Such a big, strong man you are."

Benoit laughed and walked slowly towards the bathroom. "I suppose."

When they were in the bathroom, Benoit settled her on the toilet and helped with her hospital gown. Now Julia was ready.

"Remember what Dr. Peterson said. Don't heavily force it," Benoit said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Julia said, giggling and waving her hand about.

A sudden tinkling was heard and Julia made a satisfied "ahh" face which made Benoit laugh. "You look like you're enjoyin' yourself," he said happily.

"Oh, it feels so good to pee on my own," she answered with a heavy groan.

"I didn't know it was that big of an issue."

"Clearly you've never had a catheter in your hoo haa."

Benoit cackled loudly. "My hoo haa?"

Julia giggled. "Yes, your hoo haa."

The sound of her urine stopped and she sighed, reaching for toilet paper. Benoit averted his gaze as she wiped herself and flushed the toilet. He looked back at her as she struggled to get up but he helped her, then he helped her wash the hand that didn't have the cast on it.

"You need to be careful not to get your cast wet," he explained when she gave him a puzzled look.

"Oh." Julia looked at herself in the mirror and gasped. "Oh my God, my head!"

Benoit frowned as she turned her head to the side, getting a look at her stitches and the shaved part of her head. "Yes, that was where you had surgery."

Julia leaned closer to the and her expression went from shocked to sad. "I look awful."

Benoit shook his head. "You look beautiful."

"No I don't. Look at my head...and my hair is a total rat's nest. And it's so oily. I need a shower."

Benoit chuckled and sighed. "You still look beautiful to me. Alright, back into my arms, Julia," Benoit said as he opened the bathroom door.

He lifted her up and brought her out of the bathroom, seeing Walt, Donna and Jacob in the room with the rest of the family. Julia chuckled and rested her head on Benoit's shoulder.

"I like being in your arms, my little southern donut," she whispered.

Benoit chortled faintly and slowly brought her over to the bed before laying her down and situating her before covering her up. "I like it when you're in my arms, too, chickapen," he whispered back.

"What exactly does chickapen mean, Benoit?" Julia asked.

"It's just a term of endearment, Julia, and to be honest, I'm not sure what it means. I heard it in a movie," he said before kissing her forehead and sitting back on the bed at her side.

"So," Walt said, coming closer to the bed," looks like we're boot buddies."

Julia giggled with a nod. "Yeah, boot buddies."

Some people laughed and Walt leaned on his cane. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes," Julia replied. "Although I'd feel better going through a car wash right about now. My hair is just ghastly."

"Would you like me to purchase you a brush from downstairs?" Benoit asked.

"If you don't mind," Julia said bashfully.

"Not at all," he said, kissing her hand and standing up. "I'll be back."

Benoit turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

When he left, Julia smiled and rested against the pillows. She looked around the room at everyone, and most of them were smiling at her. Except for Jacob. He was on his phone, of course.

"What?" Julia asked. "Why are you all smiling at me?"

"We're just happy that you're okay," Donna said. "And that you, well, found such a wonderful and attentive man."

"Yeah, who would've thought, considering the circumstances?" Meg said.

"Yeah," Julia said. She let out a heavy sigh, reminded of her grandfather's death. "I miss Granddad."

"We all miss him," Linda said with a frown.

"I dreamed about him in my coma, you know."

"Really? What did he say?" Joni asked.

"Told me to hurry up with my damn book," Julia giggled.

Everyone had a good laugh at that. Except Jacob. He was still immersed in his phone so Julia cleared her throat when he gasped.

"Jacob?" she called out.

"Hmm?" he responded, lifting his head.

"Care to share with the rest of the class?"

Jacob looked around shyly. "Um, you're on the news again."

Julia sighed. "What is it this time?"

"Someone leaked your accident footage."

Julia's gasped. "Gimme gimme gimme!" she exclaimed, reaching out for Jacob.

Jacob frowned. "But...it shows your car burning up. Are you sure you want to see that?"

She nodded. "I want to be more inspired to kill the bitch when I get outta here." Everyone gaped at her and she looked at them. "Inspiration for my book."

Jacob walked over and handed her the phone, and Julia started playing the video. She gasped and held her mouth when she got to the point where Emily threw the fire bottle onto Commander. Her eyes suddenly narrowed and she growled. A raging hatred formed in the pit of her stomach and her face flushed with anger.

"I'm definitely gonna kill her for wrecking my Commander," she snarled.

"Try not to be too mad right now, dear. We don't want you having a stroke," Linda warned.

Julia sighed and handed the phone back to Jacob. "I know, but that was my first car! You know how much work I put into Commander!"

Linda sighed and got up, coming over to sit on Julia's bed. "Yes, I know. But...it's just a car."

Julia jutted her jaw to one side. "Just a car?" she growled. _"Just a car?!"_

Linda rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. I'd rather have your car wrecked than have you dead, Julia."

Julia sighed and lowered her head. "I know, but...that car was my first baby."

Linda rested a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I know, sweetheart. You can always get another one, though. You have the money for it."

"I know but..." Julia felt tears fill her eyes. "All those years with the damn thing..."

The door opened and Julia looked to see Dr. Peterson walk in. "Hello, folks. I'm Dr. Peterson."

Julia quickly wiped her eyes. "Hello, Doctor. This is my family, I don't know if you've met them yet."

"We have," Dr. Peterson said. "Now, how is your breathing?"

Julia shrugged. "It seems fine to me."

"Excellent. And how is the morphine?"

"I had to up it a little, I was getting a headache."

"A headache, hmm?" Dr. Peterson walked to her and sighed. "Any neck pain or stiffness? Nausea? Dizziness?"

"No," Julia said with a shake of her head.

"Have you tried walking yet?"

"No, but I did use the bathroom. Benoit carried me in and out."

The doctor raised a brow. "He did, huh?"

"Yeah, I wasn't sure I could walk with the cast on my foot."

"Well, we'll get you crutches for the time being." Dr. Peterson smiled. "And you were able to use the toilet?"

"Yes. It was all normal," she said with a yawn.

"Getting tired?"

"A little."

"That's probably the morphine. Would you like to lay down?"

Julia looked around at her family and blinked. "But they just got here," she answered.

"Oh kiddo, you don't have to stay awake if you're tired," Richard said.

"But I'd feel like a horrible hostess if I slept."

The family laughed a little. "Oh that's alright," Donna said. "Detective Blanc has been playing host, seeing as how he's been here the most."

"He has?" Julia asked, arching a brow.

"Oh yes, he's barely left your side, Julia," Linda stated. "He's doted on you left and right."

Julia felt her cheeks flush and she tried to hide a smile. "I see. Did he...did he sleep here, too?"

"Every night," Dr. Peterson said.

Julia blushed even more and tucked her lips in. "I see."

The door opened and Julia saw Benoit walk in with a brush...and a small vase with a simple rose in it. He looked sheepish. "I, uh, they didn't have daisies at the gift shop. And...well, I thought a bouquet of roses would be...a...ahem..."

"It's fine, Benoit. Thank you. And thanks to everyone who brought me flowers. I'm sorry I didn't say thank you before, it would seem my manners got away from me," Julia confessed, her eyes feeling droopy. "Mmm, perhaps I should lie down now."

Dr. Peterson came over and adjusted the bed while Linda situated the pillows properly for Julia to lay down. Benoit put the rose on the windowsill and walked back over to the bed, pocketing the brush in his coat.

"Wait, my hair," Julia said with a pout. "I should brush it first."

Benoit chuckled and ambled over to the bed, pulling out the brush and handing it to her. "Will you require any help, my dear?" he asked.

"Ah, don't be silly. I can brush my own hair," Julia replied, starting to go at her locks of long, brown hair. "Ouch!"

Linda grabbed the brush. "Here, let me do it."

Julia groaned but conceded to letting her mother brush her hair.

* * *

It was a week later and after a little bit of rehabilitation, Julia was now well enough to leave the hospital. Benoit, of course, offered to be her caretaker until she was all better to which Julia was heavily thankful for but reluctant. He'd already done so much for her but while she'd tried to refuse him, he was adamant on taking care of her. So it was settled.

When he'd brought her home in a wheelchair, Julia was surprised to find a stack of her bills and mail on the kitchen table. When she asked Benoit about it, he told her he'd stopped by her house at one point to collect her mail. Julia was deeply moved by this.

He immediately helped set up her laptop at the table so she could pay her bills while he made them both lunch. Julia paid her bills quickly and soon her and Benoit were eating their food. Not much was said at lunch as Julia was in some pain, and soon she ended up taking pain medication to deal with it.

"I really want a shower so bad," Julia remarked after taking some vicodin.

Benoit chuckled. "Well, the most I can do is give you a bath and wash your hair in the sink," he remarked. "We cannot let your casts get water damage."

Julia frowned. "I...Benoit, I really don't want to put you out."

"It's fine. I already have all the supplies needed."

"You do?" she asked with a raised brow. "When did you get all that?"

"The doctor relinquished all the supplies for your after care once you were awake. He gave me precise instructions."

Julia frowned at him. "Why are you so good to me?" she asked.

"Because I love you," he replied casually.

She felt her eyes begin to water and she sniffled. "Oh Benoit, you are more than I deserve."

"Nonsense," Benoit said, scooting closer to her on a chair and holding her chin. "You deserve the best care and I can only hope to give you a fraction of it."

Julia chuckled and kissed him softly. He truly was the best man she'd ever dated. "I love you so much, donut."

"And I love you so much, chickapen." He gave her a loving kiss and held her face as he did. "I only wish I could protect you better from my drama."

"And mine from you," she whispered.

They kissed once more and Julia's tongue darted into Benoit's mouth. He moaned happily with a chuckle as he sucked on it.

"Mmm, I need to prepare, mmmmm, your bath," he murmurred against her lips.

"Mmm, it can, mmm, wait," she whispered.

"No," he chuckled, pulling back to look at her. "You're gonna rile me up if we keep kissin' like this."

"That's the point," Julia purred.

Benoit chuckled once more and stood up. "I won't be a minute, chickapen," he said before leaving the room.


	29. Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

After having her casts wrapped up in plastic bags, Julia nestled into the bath with a contented sigh, her casted leg and arm hanging over the side of the tub. She was in heaven, feeling the hot water on her skin.

"Oh, this feels good," she moaned softly.

Benoit chortled, sitting down beside her as she scrubbed down her shoulders and back with a loofah. "I bet so," he commented.

Julia leaned her head back just a tad and closed her eyes. "I really like what you're doing," she mumbled.

"Good. I was hopin' you would." Julia felt the loofah move to the front of her shoulders then down to her chest. She gasped a little when she felt him scrub a nipple. "Sorry."

"No need to be sorry, Detective " she purred.

Benoit chuckled deeply as he went over the other breast, making Julia bite her lip. He went down to her sides, careful to avoid her broken ribs, and then to her stomach. When he got to her inner thighs, she groaned, wishing he would just touch her.

"Somethin' wrong?" he asked, sounding a little more innocent than Julia suspected he was.

"You can touch me if you want, you know," she cooed.

Benoit chuckled with his mouth shut. "I can, can I?"

"Yes."

Julia opened her eyes to look at him. His own had gone dark. Perfect. He looked at her while he let go of the loofah and brushed his fingertips along her folds. She bit her lip again and sighed in pleasure. Then he hit her sweet spot and she gasped.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" he asked huskily.

"Yes," she breathed. "A very good one."

Benoit continued playing with her spot and Julia spread her legs a little further. He inserted one finger into her hole and she gasped again, still looking into his eyes.

"When you are all healed up," he said, pulling his hand out to grab the loofah, "we will continue this little sexual escapade."

Ugh. "You are such a tease!" Julia growled, leaning her head back and rolling her eyes.

He started scrubbing her legs. "All good things to those who wait," he whispered before kissing her cheek.

He finished scrubbing her up then helped her out of the tub and dried her off before encircling her into a bathrobe.

"Where'd you get the bathrobe?" she asked curiously.

"I bought it for you. I figured it'd be less complicated to put on after baths," he replied nonchalantly.

"Oh. Well, thank you," she said, looking down at the light blue fabric.

"You're welcome. Now, let's go see about your hair."

Benoit helped her into the kitchen and set up a chair in front of the sink. Julia sat down in it and Benoit leaned her head back, rinsing her hair carefully with the sprayer. He started humming a tune as he lathered shampoo in her hair and Julia shut her eyes, feeling quite relaxed. It was almost like she could fall asleep like this...and she almost did when Benoit announced he was done. Julia looked up at him, just now noticing the bags under his eyes.

 _"He must be tired,"_ she thought.

"You look like you could use a little snooze," he said before taking a towel to dry her hair off.

"I could say the same about you," she said with a frown. "Did you not get a lot of sleep at the hospital?"

"...No, the beds were very uncomfortable, but I'm fine," he said with a weak smile. "Don't you worry about me, chickapen."

As Benoit started brushing her hair, she lifted her head to see him. "Take a nap with me?"

He grinned down at her. "Whatever your heart desires, my dear."

Once her hair was all brushed, Julia felt like a new woman. Benoit helped her into the bedroom and out of her robe so she could change into a t-shirt and sweatpants. As she was about to do that, however, she noticed Benoit staring at her lustfully and it made Julia giggle.

"See anything you like?" she asked him.

"A whole lot and then some," he replied with hooded eyes.

"We could just sleep naked."

"Too temptin'," he remarked quickly.

"Too tempting for what?" she asked with a playful grin.

He pulled her close and kissed her softly. "Too temptin' for havin' relations," he responded, his fingertips dragging up and down her spine.

It gave her goosebumps.

"Why resist the temptation?"

"Because the doctor ordered no strenuous activities until your ribs heal," he replied, kissing the side of her neck.

"That's a whole month, though," Julia whined.

"I know."

Julia smiled at him and nipped his lower lip, eliciting a growl from Benoit. "We could do other things."

"Like what?" he asked with his brows arched up.

Julia looked down at the front of his pants, looked back up at him with a sultry look and grasped the front of him. "Let me please you."

Benoit's eyes fluttered for a brief moment before he shook his head with a grunt. "Chickapen, I...mmm..."

Julia got him to shut up when she began stroking the outside of his pants. "I want to pleasure you, Benoit. Please let me," she begged.

Benoit grunted and arched his head up. "You really are makin' this hard for me, Julia."

She smirked. "I can tell," she said, squeezing his erection gently.

Benoit grunted again then grabbed her hand to stop her, looking at her with a chastising expression. "Miss Drysdale, you stop that."

Julia pouted at him seductively. "But Benoit..."

Benoit huffed and shook his head. "Julia, I know this is goin' to be difficult for the both of us, but..." he reached over to the bed and grabbed her black t-shirt, "we cannot do anythin' that will cause a strain on you."

Julia rolled her eyes and snatched the t-shirt from his hands. Now she was extremely flustered. Pissed off, even. She hastily put on the t-shirt then turned around to grab her panties. When Benoit tried to help her, she smacked his hand away.

"I can do it myself," Julia said, sitting on the bed and pulling her panties up.

She winced from bending over at the waist. "Are you mad at me?"

"Yes!" she growled, still struggling to get her panties on.

"Why? Because I am lookin' out for your well bein'?"

"Because I'm sexually frustrated and you make me that way!" she shouted, finally managing to get her underwear on. Julia reached for the sweatpants but then decided against it. "Ah fuck it!"

She tossed them to the floor and went to get into bed when she felt arms envelope her and a kiss on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, chickapen. I only want what is best for your health," he drawled into her ear.

Julia knew that she was just acting like a baby but she couldn't help it. She only wanted something to go right for a change, but she just couldn't seem to catch a break at all. Not to mention she had an incredibly hot boyfriend that she hadn't even slept with yet. It was killing her not being able to have sex with the man she was deeply in love with.

She took his arms off and got into the bed. "I'm going to sleep," she growled, rolling onto her good side and curling up into a slight ball.

As soon as she did that, though, she grimaced from the pain in her side. Julia felt the bed sink down and a hand on her shoulder.

"Julia, darlin', please don't be mad."

"I can't help it right now," she sighed heavily.

Julia felt Benoit sink in next to her, draping an arm around her and kissing her shoulder. "What can I do?"

"What I want, you won't do," she muttered bitterly.

A hand trailed down her stomach. "Julia," he whispered. "I love you. I want you to get better."

She huffed, still feeling mad but being slightly appeased. "I know, but...fuck, I hate Emily."

"I know," Benoit said, kissing her neck. "I am not fond of her, either."

Julia shut her eyes, feeling tired again. "I don't want to be mad, but I just..." she turned on her back to look at him, "I just want you so god damn bad."

"And I, you," he said, caressing her face. "But for now, let's get some shut eye, okay?"

Julia frowned but nodded, rolling back onto her side. Benoit pulled the covers up and snuggled against her. Julia fell asleep within five minutes.

* * *

When Julia woke up, she was in pain and she groaned from it. Benoit was not in bed with her but she could smell something wonderful coming from the kitchen. She sat up and groaned again, her head and ribs really hurting. Julia looked at the nightstand and saw her medicine and a glass of water as well as her crutches. She grabbed her medicine bottle, opened it and took out a vicodin. She closed the bottle, popped the pill in her mouth and took a long drink of water. As she set it down on the nightstand, along with the pill bottle, Julia looked out the window. It was dark out. How long had she slept?

Once the pain had dulled to a small ache, Julia grabbed her sweatpants and put them on, then she grabbed the crutches and settled them under her arm pits, using them to walk along the floor. She exited the bedroom and went into the kitchen to see Benoit cooking something. The sound of rubber scraping metal filled the room along with a sizzling of hamburger. He looked at her with a smile.

"Ah, you're up. I'm making hamburgers," he said. "Do you like hamburgers?"

Julia nodded. "I love hamburgers."

"Good. What do you like on them? Ketchup? Mustard?"

"Both," she replied.

"Alright. They're almost done so go into the living room and make yourself comfortable."

Julia hobbled into the living room and grabbed the remote before settling herself into the recliner. She turned on the tv to the news and reclined the seat back.

_"...other news, North Korea conducted its second successful test this week geared toward-"_

Julia changed the station to another news channel.

_"...a declaration of emergency Friday for the Loiusiana city after phishing attempts-"_

Julia once again changed the channel, seeing a picture of her brother.

_"...Ransom Drysdale, grandson to deceased mystery writer Harlan Thrombey, will be in court Tuesday morning to begin the murder trial of Fran Settler, Harlan Thrombey's housekeeper, and the attempted murder of Marta Cabrera, the caretaker who inherited Harlan Thrombey's fortune, house and publishing company."_

Julia sighed and rubbed her face. "Good grief," she said before turning the channel again.

She kept channel surfing, not finding anything particularly interesting to watch. Finally she shut the tv off and set the remote down just as Benoit brought in a plate of fries, a hamburger and a glass of iced tea. He set the plate and glass down on the table next to the recliner and frowned at her.

"Couldn't find anythin' good to watch?" he asked.

"No," she pouted.

"Then maybe we'll put in a movie," he said, hovering above her and kissing her lips. "Anythin' tickle your fancy at the moment?"

"Hmm," she hummed, kissing him back. "I'm kinda in a "Gone With The Wind" mood."

"Then "Gone With The Wind" it shall be," he said before standing up straight.

"Wait, didn't it burn along with my other things in the car?" she asked.

"I have my own copy," he replied, looking around in his movie shelf.

"Oh shit. My gun burned in the car, too. Dammit! And "Jumping Jack Flash"!"

Benoit chuckled. "I am certain we can replace the things you lost, Julia," he said, grabbing the movie from the shelf and walking to his DVD player.. "But you, my dear, cannot be replaced."

Julia smiled at him. "You're so sweet."

"I mean it, Julia. When I found out you were in that accident, I..." he paused, lowering his head before looking at her over his shoulder. "I thought I had lost you all over again."

Julia frowned at him. "Aww, donut..." she said before motioning for him to come over. "I'd come over but I'm, you know..."

Benoit smiled at her before popping in the movie, then he walked to her and leaned over her. Julia grinned up at him and cupped his face with one hand.

"I love you. And you won't lose me again. Okay?"

"I love you too," he said, kissing her palm. "So very, very much."

Julia yanked him down by his shirt collar and put her mouth on his. Benoit grabbed her face and pushed her mouth apart with his tongue. Their tongues wiggled around a bit as they kissed and Julia groaned into his mouth.

"Oh Benoit," she murmurred.

"Chickapen," he uttered.

Benoit pulled her up from the chair and hooked his arms around her. Julia wrapped her arms around him and started kissing his neck and jaw. He was turning her on again and while a part of her knew it had to stop at some point, another part of her didn't care. She just wanted to be caught up in the moment.

"Ugh, why are you doin' this to me?" he asked with a growl in his throat.

"I'm not doing anything," Julia giggled. "I'm only kissing you."

Benoit groaned against her lips and put one hand in her hair while the other cupped her ass. "You make me so aroused."

"Do I detect the bad boy coming out?"

"Yes," Benoit moaned, pulling on her hair and biting her neck.

"Oh Benoit, you animal," she laughed. "We should stop before I get mad about us not going any further, though."

Benoit nodded, still biting her neck. "Mmhmm."

"Benoit."

"Mmm?" he answered, licking her throat.

"Do I need to sick the shower on you again?"

Benoit chuckled and pulled back after a few moments. "No."

Julia gave him a peck before settling back down into the chair. "Okay, now go get your food, you bad boy," she said with a sultry tone.

Benoit sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "I apologize," he said, looking bashful.

"It's fine," she said. "Just go get your food."

He went to the kitchen and came back out to the living room with a plate full of food and a glass with ice tea. He settled on the couch, grabbed the remote and pressed play. The opening credits started to play as Julia and Benoit began eating their dinner.

"God, I love this movie," Julia said with a mouthful of food.

Benoit looked at her with a bright smile. "Me too."

Julia took another bite of her hamburger just as Vivien Leigh came into view on the screen.

_"Fiddle-dee-dee... war, war, war. This war talk's spoiling all the fun at every part of this spring. I get so bored, I could scream."_

Julia and Benoit kept chowing down into their food and drinks and by the time they finished, the BBQ scene at Twelve Oaks was just coming on. There were horse drawn carriages pulling up to the extravagant plantation house and Julia grinned. She took a drink of her iced tea and smacked her lips.

"Julia, would you like to join me on the couch?" Benoit asked, looking at her with a smile. "You look like you could use some snugglin'."

With a nod, Julia attempted to get up but she winced. "Ah!"

Benoit sat up straight. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just moved wrong, is all," she groaned. "Fucking ribs."

Benoit got up and helped her get to the couch, then he went and grabbed a blanket from the bedroom and came back with it, wrapping up his girlfriend in it.

_"Oh India, here are the O'Hara girls. We must greet them."_

_"I can't stand that Scarlet. Have you seen the way she throws herself at Ashley?"_

_"Now, now, that's your brother's business. You must remember your duties as hostess."_

The two got settled in together comfortably and Benoit draped an arm around Julia.

"Did you want some dessert, chickapen?" he asked.

"No thank you, I'm stuffed," she replied.

"Too stuffed for salted caramel ice cream?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Ooooooh," she said, looking at him with wide eyes and a big smile. "Yes, please."

Benoit got up and walked to the kitchen. After a few minutes, he came back out with a bowl of ice cream and a bright smile. Julia grabbed the bowl greedily and spooned a mouthful of ice cream. As she took a bite, her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"Oh God," she said. "Sooooo good. How'd you know I like this?"

Benoit sat down with a grin and a sigh. "Your mother told me it's your comfort food."

* * *

_Julia was sitting up in her bedroom, sulking about Alice. It had been a almost a week since Alice's death and everyone at school knew about it as well as Julia's involvement. What was worse, Kelly refused to speak to Julia nor accept her apology._

_This week totally sucked._

_There was a knock on Julia's door and she sighed._

_"Come in," Julia said glumly._

_The door opened to reveal her mother. "Hey, kiddo. How are you doing?"_

_Julia frowned at her. "How do you think I'm doing, Mother?" she asked dryly._

_Linda furrowed her brow and walked in before sitting next to Julia on the bed. She held out a pint of salted caramel ice cream and a spoon._

_"I got you your favorite," her mother said._

_"Thank you,_ _but I don't think ice cream is going to help me feel better," Julia said sadly._

_Linda wrapped an arm around her daughter and sighed. "That bad of a day at school, huh?"_

_Julia scoffed bitterly. "A bad week, is more like it. People look at me different now, like I'm a criminal or something. And Kelly...she won't even speak to me."_

_"You're not a criminal. And Kelly will come around."_

_"Well, I sure do feel like one, and I don't think she will. Her and her parents hate me."_

_"Julia, it was Alice's decision to jump off that roof. You didn't push her off."_

_Julia turned to face her mother. "But I practically goaded her into it by bullying her, Mom. I made her feel more of a freak than she already felt and told her she was a waste of oxygen."_

_"You know now that she had...mental problems," Linda stated._

_"Yeah but I was the straw that broke the camel's back," Julia said. "I'm just a no good bully who basically took a life."_

_Linda sighed and stood up. "Well, I'm not sure what else I can tell you, sweetheart." She put the ice cream and spoon on the night stand and frowned. "I'll just leave this here in case you change your mind."_

_When her mom left the room, Julia eyed the ice cream for a few minutes before giving in and opening it._

* * *

Over the next week, Benoit and Julia spent a good portion of their time buying Christmas presents for family members, Marta, and each other. Benoit also managed to buy a Christmas tree and bring it home. Julia insisted on helping him decorate it, but he only had twinkling lights and generic ornaments. She was surprised to find that Benoit did not own personal ornaments.

"How do you not have personal ornaments for your tree?" Julia asked as she held the lights up for him to put on the tree.

"I never felt the need to purchase any," Benoit replied, wrapping the lights around the branches.

"Well you need some. It'll give the tree more...personality."

Benoit laughed. "Personality, huh? Well I will strive to remember that in the future."

Benoit wrapped up the last bit if lights and Julia started grabbing ornaments of stars and red and green bulbs to put on the tree. Benoit did the same, and soon the tree was all decorated. They both took a step back to admire their work.

"Well, I'd say that's a pretty good looking tree," Julia commented.

"I concur," Benoit said.

"Now all we need is the topper and some real ornaments from the Hallmark store."

Benoit looked at her. "We could go get some now."

Julia eyed him. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Julia shrugged. "It'll be slim pickins, but okay."

Benoit helped Julia into her winter jacket and her boot, then he handed her crutches as she put on her winter hat and one glove. Benoit dressed accordingly for the winter weather and they both headed out. Julia shivered a little from the cold weather. Once at the car, he, of course, opened her car door and helped her in, then jogged to the other side and got in.

As they made their way to the store, a light snow began to fall. Christmas music played on the radio and Julia listened to Benoit sing along to "I'll Be Home For Christmas".

"Why don't you sing with me, chickapen?" Benoit asked during the middle of the song.

"Because..." she said bashfully. "I'm horrible at it."

"You cannot be that horrible at it," he mused.

"I'm tone deaf."

"Oh. Well, sing anyway."

"No."

"Oh come on," he urged playfully.

Julia huffed. "No. You might fall out of love with me if you hear me sing," she joked.

"I most certainly will not," he laughed loudly.

Julia eyeballed him. "You lie like a dog."

Benoit guffawed happily. "You make me laugh," he said with a shake of his head. "But I will get you to sing for me one day."

"Yeah right," Julia giggled.

They arrived at their destination and parked. Once the car was off, Benoit went to the passenger side and opened Julia's door. She got out, settled with her crutches, and they both went inside the Hallmark store.

As Julia had predicted, the ornaments were practically picked clean. They found a Santa in his sled so they got that one. Then Julia noticed an ornament of Clark Griswold holding a chainsaw and she insisted on getting that one too. Benoit saw a Rhett Butler one and picked that off the shelf. Then Julia saw a whole section of Disney ornaments and she picked out a Mrs. Potts ornament to buy because "why not?" was her reasoning.

They also found a star topper for the tree, then they brought the ornaments and topper up to the register, bought them, then made their merry way back to the car. Benoit got Julia in before going to his side of the car. He put the bag of Christmas items in the car, got in the driver's seat, started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.

As they were driving along, Benoit looked at Julia. "I'm really glad we did this, chickapen."

Julia stared out the window with a slight frown. She was happy they did this, and she was happy to spend time with him, but there was one thing they couldn't do to make her extremely happy.

They could not engage in sexual intercourse.

This thought infuriated Julia and she was trying to be patient about it, but it was just so hard. She hated that she was wounded, that she had broken bones that would prevent her from engaging in sexual activities. It killed her.

"Julia? Are you alright?"

Julia looked over at Benoit and gave him a soft smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine."

Benoit didn't look very convinced. "Are you sure?"

Julia sighed and looked out the window again. "I'm just thinking about stuff, that's all, and I don't want to get into it."

"Why not?"

"Because it'll just lead to a fight."

Julia heard Benoit sigh and felt his hand on her leg. "Julia, it's only been about three weeks since your accident. You only have three more to go."

"But my ribs are feeling so much better these days. I can stretch and twist with very little discomfort."

"Yes but can your ribs bear weight?"

"...Isn't there a position we can do that won't make me have to bear weight?"

Julia was met with silence and she looked at him. Benoit was in deep thought. "Well, yes, but..."

"But what, Benoit?"

"I don't want to end up hurtin' you."

"Well, you just have to be gentle."

Benoit smirked at her before looking back at the road. "With all the sexual tension we have at this point, what makes you think I would be capable of bein' gentle?"

Julia's jaw dropped. _"Oh shit,"_ she thought.


	30. The New Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

After getting back home, Julia and Benoit set up the rest of the ornaments and the tree topper. Now the tree definitely looked finished. Julia took it in and smiled.

"It looks _much_ better," she said.

"Yes," Benoit responded with a grin. "Definitely more personal."

Julia slinked her arm around Benoit's waist and grinned. "Almost can't wait until next year when we can buy more ornaments."

"Thinkin' ahead already?"

"Of course," Julia replied with a beaming smile.

"Good," he said, pulling Julia to his chest and kissing her. "I think you deserve an early Christmas present."

"I do?" she asked, blinking a few times in surprise.

"Yes."

Julia looked around. "Well, where is it?"

Benoit chuckled maniacally which sent shivers down her spine. He looked down and placed a hand on her womanhood. That sent more shivers through Julia as he began teasing her a little.

"Benoit, what are you-"

"Shh shh shh," he hushed, putting a finger to her lips. "I know you have been feelin' discouraged, especially as of late, about us and bedroom activities. And while we cannot actually engage in intercourse yet, I have given your words from earlier some thought," Benoit explained, twirling his fingers around her clothed nub.

"Y-you have?" Julia breathed in pleasure.

"Yes. I have decided that I can please you, as long as I am gentle, which I very well can be."

Julia pouted at him. "But what about you?" she asked. "I can please you, too."

Benoit slipped his fingers inside her sweatpants and panties before just barely playing with her labia. Julia felt her innards twitch and she mewled, his fingers stroking her outer lips.

"You can worry about pleasin' me another time, chickapen. Right now, I want you to enjoy yourself," Benoit purred softly, nuzzling his nose to hers. "Now, let's get you to the bed, hmm?"

Before Julia could talk, Benoit picked her up bridal style and started walking to the bedroom. She felt her heart race and her blood pump as he neared the bed, and then he gently placed her on the sheets. He crawled over her, kissing her gently on the mouth. Her body temperature began to rise from the anticipation as his lips trailed down to her chin, her jaw, her throat, and her collarbone. Benoit raised her shirt up, pulled down her bra and took a nipple into his mouth while squeezing her free breast. Julia hissed when his teeth clamped down on her nipple and he laughed softly.

"Did that hurt?" he whispered seductively, looking at her with dilated eyes.

"Only a little," she replied with a bite to her lip. "Do it again."

Benoit nipped Julia's bud once again and she had to do everything in her power not to arch her back. It felt _so good._ He started teasing her other breast with his hand and she shut her eyes, rolling her head back with a gasp. His tongue trailed down her body to her abdomen and he placed soft kisses on her skin, causing her to have goosebumps. He was going too slow for her.

"Benoit, please don't tease, just give me my present already!" she groaned with impatience.

A chuckle escaped his mouth and he blew hot breath on her skin. "You must be unwrapped first," he whispered.

"Well hurry up!" she growled.

Benoit burst out laughing and glanced up at her. "My my, so impatient..."

Julia glared down at him, running a hand through his short hair. "I am."

Benoit licked her belly button and went lower, butterfly kisses dancing across her navel. He slowly grasped her sweatpants and pulled them down to her knees, then he started scratching her thighs, making Julia hiss. He pulled her sweatpants all the way off then went for her panties next. As Benoit got those off, he began kissing her inner thighs. Julia was breathing very heavily at this point and she spread her legs, putting herself on display for him.

Julia felt a swipe of his finger on her and she immediately lifted her hips. The feeling of his breath on her made Julia wetter and hotter. Small kisses were placed on her thighs, then they crept closer and closer to her core. Just when she was about to yell at him, Benoit's tongue licked her and Julia shuddered almost violently at the feeling. He brushed his tongue along her wetness again and it made Julia moan softly. He teased his tongue at her opening and she growled, gripping the bedsheets tightly.

"You taste so good, chickapen," he murmurred against her moist lips.

The vibration of his voice sent a spasm through her and she gasped. His tongue continued to lap at her, creating an ache inside her. Benoit was being a total tease and she both loved and hated it.

Finally his tongue flicked over her clit and she groaned loudly while nibbling on her lower lip. Julia felt him do it again and soon his tongue was broad and flat against her sensitive nub. The detective looked up at her as he sucked and licked her, seemingly pleased at her mewls and moans.

"Oh fuck, Benoit," she mumbled.

"Hmm?" he breathed against her pussy. "What?"

"Mmm, the things you're doing to me..."

Benoit let out a small chortle and went back to tasting his girlfriend. Julia gasped when one finger went inside her, curling upwards to her G-spot. She felt his finger drag along it while his tongue swirled around her outer bundle of nerves. A warm feeling began to settle in her stomach and traveled down to her groin.

 _"Shit, he's going to make me cum already,"_ she thought.

Julia's gasps and moans got louder and more frequent, with little growls here and there, as Benoit worked faster to please her. She looked down at him with lust-filled eyes and began bucking her hips up. Their eyes locked and Julia hit the edge of her orgasm. Her inner muscles contracted and relaxed around his finger over and over, the aftermath of her climax like a pulse in her nether regions.

She relaxed her body on the bed as she tried to calm her shallow and rapid breathing.

"Benoit, that...was so good," she giggled breathlessly.

Benoit chortled deeply and proceeded to put her underwear and sweatpants back on, although he had trouble with the sweatpants due to Julia's cast. Once that was done, he crawled up to her and laid down beside her.

"Was it really?" he asked with a smile.

Julia nodded at him, giggling breathlessly. "Oh yeah. Thank you for my early Christmas present."

"Mmm," he hummed before kissing her softly.

Julia could taste her juices on his but she didn't mind. She snuggled up close to him and rested her head on his chest. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he replied.

* * *

"So, how are we going to handle Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?" Julia asked the next morning as they were eating breakfast.

Benoit raised a brow while looking at her, obviously confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, every year, my parents hold a Christmas Eve party. Doesn't your family do that?"

"No, but we do have a Christmas Day party."

"Okay, well, my parents want to know if you're coming for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."

Benoit took a bite of his eggs and shrugged. "I suppose I could, but I would have to make Sarah's party too. She was actually wanting to know if you wanted to attend."

Julia grinned. "We could try and do both."

"I think that can be managed."

"Alright, so it's settled," Julia said before taking a bite of her waffle. "So, anything planned for today?"

"Just a case I am needing to work on. It is in New Jersey, so I might be gone for a day or two. I was meaning to tell you that."

Julia's face dropped. "Oh. Well, you're gonna be back in time for Christmas Eve, right?"

"Of course," Benoit said with a smile. "I would not miss it for the world, my dear."

"Well, if you're gonna be gone, I'll have Marta pick me up to purchase a new winter car. I can't very well drive my other ones...well, maybe I could drive Dutch since he's an automatic, but...ugh," she said, holding her forehead. "I really miss Commander."

Benoit squinted his eyes. "Julia, I am not sure you should be drivin' around by yourself. Not with Emily and Mr. Heller still on the loose. In fact, I was goin' to suggest you stay with Marta while I am gone."

Julia sighed in defeat. "You're probably right, but I wouldn't want to put her out. I could just stay with my parents, too."

"Perhaps. How is their, uh, therapy comin' along?"

"It's coming along nicely. Dad moved back into the house, so that's a good sign."

"Good."

They both finished their breakfast and Benoit grabbed their dishes to put in the dishwasher after rinsing them, then he went to go pack. While he was doing that, Julua grabbed her phone and dialed her mother. It rang a few times before it clicked.

_"Hi, Julia. How are you?"_

"Good, Mom. Listen, I was wondering if I could come stay with you for a couple days? Benoit has to go out of town for a case, and, well, I'd rather not be by myself while he's gone," Julia explained.

_"Oh of course you can, kiddo. Not a problem_ _. When should we expect you?"_

"I guess some time today?"

_"No problem. See you when you get here."_

"Okay, love you Mom."

_"Love you too, bye."_

Julia hung up the phone, grabbed her crutches and went into the bedroom. She watched Benoit pack for his little journey and she grinned at him.

"You know," she said, "I was thinking about something."

Benoit turned to face her for a moment. "Hmm?"

"Once Emily and Mr. Heller are dealt with...it's going to be pretty lonely back at my place."

Benoit paused midway through his packing and glanced at her. "It will be lonely here, too."

"I think I may have a solution for that."

"Oh?" Benoit said, crossing his arms with a grin as he faced her. "Lay it on me."

Julia wobbled to him on her crutches, settled them next to the bed and put her arms around the back of his neck. "I was thinking we could discuss you...moving into my place?"

Benoit put his hands on her waist with a grin on his face. "Really?"

"Uh huh," she replied with a head nod. "That is if it's not too soon for you, of course."

Benoit shook his head at her. "Not at all, chickapen. I think this is a fantastic idea."

A bright smile appeared on her face. "Really?"

"Yeah. I would love to reside in your house."

Julia kissed him softly, pulling him close. Benoit hooked his arms around her and chuckled into her mouth. She hummed against his mouth before pulling back.

"Do you need help packing?" she asked.

"No, I think I can manage," he answered. "Will you need help packing?"

"Well, I should stop by my house and grab something to wear for the parties," Julia surmised.

"I can certainly drive you there and to your parent's house," Benoit said. "Just let me-"

Julia grabbed a hold of his waistband and pulled him to her, looking at him seductively. "You should let me," she trailed a finger up and down his crotch which made him hiss, "give you an early Christmas present."

Benoit eyed her. "Are you sure you can handle that?"

Julia nodded, tugging on his waistband again. "I want to taste you, Benoit. My mouth is practically," she leaned forward and licked his earlobe, "watering for your cock."

She felt her boyfriend tremble a little and she giggled. As she began unbuckling his pants, she slowly went down on her knees and pulled his zipper down. In an effort to portray seduction, Julia looked up at him with hooded eyes and bit her lower lip. She could already feel his member growing and when she pulled his pants and briefs down, his erection popped up. Placing her hands on either side of his hips, Julia kissed the tip of him. Another hiss escaped Benoit. Her tongue lapped at his head a bit, her eyes still on his while he stared down at her in amazement.

Julia caught a little bit of precum on her tongue and smiled as her mouth enveloped his tip. Benoit groaned and leaned his head back, but only for a moment before looking back down at her with dark eyes, entangling his fingers in her brown locks. Suckling on his head made Benoit groan out once more. Julia was delighted with his noises and watching his face contort as she pleasured him.

Her mouth let go of his engorged member and he growled in frustration, her tongue trailing up and down the underside of his cock.

"Put it back in, please," Benoit practically begged.

Julia chuckled and shook her head. "Patience, my love."

He furrowed his brow while looking down at her. "You're teasin' me. Don't."

Her uncasted hand massaged his testicles and Benoit grunted. "So grumpy," she uttered.

Julia's lips wrapped around his head again and she sucked a little, swirling her tongue around his tip. Her mouth suddenly engulfed part of his shaft and she watched Benoit's mouth part and his eyes flutter. This pleased Julia. She was finally giving him some real physical pleasure and the thought of it turned her on, but she needed to focus on Benoit's hard member.

Her head bobbed back and forth, trying her best to swallow his large erection whole. She couldn't because as soon as his tip hit the back of her throat, her gag reflex activated and she heaved.

"Woa, are you alright?" Benoit asked with a chuckle.

"Mmhmm," Julia replied, his cock still in her mouth.

Her head resumed its movements and she increased the pace a little, her hand that was playing with his testicles now wrapping around his shaft. Julia started stroking him as her head moved front and back, saliva pooling in her mouth and onto his dick. Benoit thrust into her mouth slowly and carefully, gripping her hair tightly and groaning out loud. He raised his head back as a low growl emanated from his throat.

"Oh Julia..." he muttered. "You're gonna make me cum soon, your mouth feels so good."

Julia went faster with her hand and mouth, sucking on him a little harder. Soon Benoit urged her to go even faster and she obliged him. She could feel his member start to pulsate so she knew he was getting close. He looked back down at Julia with dark eyes, licking his lips before grunting. Still, she picked up the pace even more and not long after, Benoit started groaning repeatedly. Suddenly warm, sticky liquid shot into Julia's mouth as Benoit let out a loud growl. She swallowed all of it and gave his shaft one last stroke before pulling away.

"How was that?" she inquired with a smirk, knowing full well how good it was for him based on the look on his face.

"That was fantastic," Benoit replied, stroking her face gently as he smiled down at her. "I cannot wait until you're all healed up.

* * *

After Julia took a bath (with Benoit's help) and he took a shower, they finished up packing and Benoit carried both their suitcases to the car. He helped Julia get in and then he got in himself. The first stop they made was to Julia's house so she could pick out some outfits for the parties. After deciding on a simple blue dress and a dark green one, Benoit put those in the car for her and they headed out again.

Once they made it to Julia's parent's house, Benoit let out a whistle. "They have a nice house," he said.

It was a colonial styled house that was the color of soft blue with three floors, the third being an attic. It had a two door garage and the door was a deep dark blue. Benoit got out of the car, went around to Julia's side and opened the door for her. She got out with her crutches and waited for Benoit to grab her suitcase and dresses.

"I can carry my dresses, I think," Julia said.

Benoit shook his head. "No, I got them," she assured her as he pulled out her suitcase and two dresses.

They walked up to the front door and Benoit rang the bell. After a minute or so, the door opened to reveal Linda Drysdale. She gave them both a smile.

"Julia, Benoit, so good to see you," Linda said. "Come on in."

The couple walked into the spacious walkway and Julia hugged her mother briefly, wondering when the two had gotten on a first name basis.

 _"Probably while I was in a coma,"_ she thought.

Richard came walking in from the kitchen and grinned. "Ah, hey kiddo. Hey Benoit."

Richard and Benoit shook hands and Julia looked at the stairs. She wasn't looking forward to going up and down the stairs but she'd have to manage, she supposed.

"Well, where shall I put Julia's things?" Benoit asked.

"My bedroom is upstairs," Julia said with a sigh.

"Wouldn't you prefer one of the guest bedrooms down here so you don't have to use the stairs?" Richard asked.

Julia nodded. "That would be great, actually."

Benoit was led through the walkway and down the hall by Richard and Julia followed on her crutches with her mother trailing behind. They all walked into the first room on the right and Benoit set Julia's suitcase next to the queen sized bed. He found the closet and hung up her dresses while Julia plopped down on the bed. Boy, she was tired already. She yawned and covered her mouth before groaning and shaking her head.

"You tired?" her mother asked.

"A little bit," Julia answered.

"Would you like to take a nap?"

"I think so, yeah."

Benoit finished hanging her dresses and shoved his hands in his coat pockets. Julia stood up and pulled the covers back on the bed before crawling in at an achingly slow pace.

"Do you need your vicodin?" Benoit inquired to Julia.

"No, I think I'm good," Julia replied, settling into the bed.

He walked over and covered her up before pulling the covers over her. As he leaned down, he gave her a soft kiss. "I'll be back before you know it, chickapen."

Julia giggled and pat his cheek gently. "I know, but please hurry back for the party. I'll be quite cross if you don't."

Benoit laughed a little and kissed her again. "I love you."

"I love you too, donut." Benoit straightened and walked out with Linda. Richard stayed behind, his arms crossed with a grin on his face. Julia eyeballed him. "What?"

"Donut?" he asked.

"It's a long story," she said, snuggling into the covers.

"I see." Richard turned off the light and looked at Julia from the door. "You get some sleep. Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too, Dad."

Richard shut the door and Julia shut her eyes, falling asleep rather quickly.

* * *

Benoit Blanc said goodbye to the Drysdales and got into his car to head to Trenton, New Jersey. To a funeral home. That was his next case.

As he drove out of Boston and onto the highway leading to New Jersey, he sang along to various Christmas songs on the radio. Occasionally he'd get tired of that and switch to a different station, but then he'd go back to the Christmas songs because he was just that much in a good mood.

He had a feeling this Christmas was going to be the best one yet.

About four and a half hours later, Detective Benoit Blanc arrived in Trenton, New Jersey and eventually found his way to the Gills Brothers funeral home, a posh, expensive looking place. Probably a funeral home only the richest people could afford to get services from. He parked, turned off the car and got out. There were other people parked outside along with a couple of cops. Benoit made his way over to the police and introduced himself.

"Ah, Detective Blanc," the blonde haired cop said. "I'm Officer Henson, this here," he pointed to a younger brown haired, green looking cop, "is Officer Lopez."

Benoit shook both their hands before shoving his hands in his pockets. "So, would you mind telling me what the scoop is?"

"10:30 am. The family came in for the wake of their relative, a Mr. George Delaware. He'd been shot a few nights before by persons unknown," Henson said, walking with Blanc and Lopez to the funeral home doors. "Undertaker said there was a...well, a mix up."

"A mix up? How do you mean?" Blanc asked.

They walked into the doors and went into the funeral parlour to meet with the undertaker, a Mr. Horace Bensley. "Well, uh..." Henson said. "Mr. Bensley, perhaps you should explain?"

Horace, a graying man probably in his mid fifties, looked at Benoit nervously. "Well, I went to prepare the casket for the wake. I had put the body of Mr. Delaware in a casket last night, but this morning, well," Horace looked off to the side.

Benoit raised a brow. "Go on."

"Well, it was the wrong body."


	31. Christmas Eve

Now Benoit was intrigued, both his eyebrows now raised as his forehead crinkled.

"The wrong body?" he asked Mr. Bensley.

"Yes. In fact, the body in the casket looks very similar to George Delaware, but it's not even a body at all," Horace explained. "It's a replica."

Now Benoit was _very_ intrigued. "A replica, you say?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," Benoit said. "Would you mind showin' me this replica?"

"Of course," Horace said, directing them to the casket in the showing room.

Once Benoit got to the casket, he cocked his head to the side. "Who figured out it wasn't the real Mr. Delaware?"

"His wife did," Horace said with a frown.

Benoit took note of Horace's facial expression before looking at the body. It sure looked real enough. "I suppose that would make sense, though it looks real enough. Who would go to all this trouble to replace a body with a fake, I wonder?" he asked, looking at the three men.

"Maybe he faked his death?" Officer Lopez observed.

"That would be quite impossible. The body I worked on was definitely Mr. Delaware," Horace said.

"And you know this for sure?" Benoit asked.

"Oh yes. He was well known around these parts."

"How so?"

"Oh, just a local humanitarian. He did a lot of charity work and all that," Horace explained.

"Was he wealthy?"

"Yes."

Benoit scratched his head. "How did the wife know it wasn't him?"

"Apparently he had a scar on his left hand, and this dummy here," Horace pointed to the replica's left hand, "has no scar."

"Hmm," Benoit hummed. "Strange case. Who was here for the viewin'?"

"The wife, Janet, their two children, Logan and Tammy, and some friends of the family," Officer Henson answered. "The viewing was a uh, private event, while the funeral is supposed to be a public one."

"Did you get a statement from all of them?" Benoit inquired.

"Yes. All of them were at their own homes this morning to get ready for the viewing."

"What time did they all arrive?"

"A Mr.," Henson got out his pocketbook, "Mr. Joseph DeCavalcante got here first. He showed up around 10:15. His two sons, Tommy and Jack, showed at 10:20. Casket was placed at 10:25, then five minutes later the wife and kids showed up. Wife took one look at the body and knew it wasn't George."

 _"Why would friends show up first? That seems a little fishy,"_ Benoit thought.

"Hmm. The people out front, I assume are the relatives and friends?"

"Yes."

"I'd like to question them all, if that would be alright."

Henson nodded. "Sure."

"And Mr. Bensley," Benoit started, taking note of Horace's lanky frame, "do you have an assistant who helps with all the heavy liftin'?"

"Yes. That would be Donald. He had to leave this morning, though. He had a family emergency," Horace explained.

"Well, we should call him in for questionin' as well."

* * *

Julia woke up from her nap and looked at the time on her phone. _"Good grief, I slept for five hours. I must've really been tired,"_ she thought.

Julia pocketed her phone, got out of bed and grabbed her crutches before hobbling to the door. She opened it and looked out into the hallway. She could hear the tv on in the living room so she managed her way along the hallway and peeked around the corner to see her parents on the black leather couch together in the living room. They were laughing...and cuddling. It brought a smile to her face.

Julia decided not to disrupt the two lovebirds so she hobbled back to the guest room, vouching for working on her book. She grabbed her laptop from her suitcase and put it on the bed, then she got into the bed, turned on her laptop and got to working.

Julia spent a few hours clacking away at her keyboard, getting a couple chapters in and editing any grammar or spelling mistakes before she decided to take a break. It was at that moment when she got a text on her phone. It was from Benoit.

_Hello, chickapen. Did you have a nice nap?_

She grinned and typed up a response before sending it.

_Yes. Working on my book now. How goes the case?_

Julia got out of bed and started stretching. Her back popped a few times, as did her neck, when she got another text and looked at it.

_The case is ongoing. It is a compelling challenge. It might beat your grandfather's case in difficulty._

Julia giggled and began texting.

_Can you give me any specifics? Maybe I can help._

Julia continued her stretching, wincing a little from the pain in her side. She still needed to be careful with her ribs. Her phone dinged and she looked at it.

_All I can tell you is that someone switched bodies in a casket at a funeral home_ _, and that the body in the casket was a fake._

Julia wheezed out a laugh from astonishment.

_Well, where's the real body?_

She sat back down, waiting for a response. When she got one, Julia glanced at her phone.

_Current whereabouts are unknown._

Julia tilted her head to the side, thinking for a few moments before sending a response.

_That is definitely weird. Who would do such a thing? And why?_

Julia set the phone down and grabbed a brush from her suitcase. While she brushed her hair, her phone beeped and she looked at it.

_My thoughts exactly._

"Hmm," Julia said, texting Benoit back.

_I mean, who would go through the trouble of replacing a body with a replica rather than just leaving the casket empty?_ _If they'd left the casket empty, they still would've gotten away scott free, right?_

Julia went back to brushing her hair. She'd just finished when her phone went off again.

_Obviously, someone opted for discretion. This was done by a professional._

That made sense to Julia. Unless...

_Unless they wanted to make a statement_ _of some kind?_

Julia pocketed her phone and grabbed her crutches before leaving the room. As soon as she walked out, she could smell dinner cooking. It was a wonderful smell, too.

"Mom? Are you cooking dinner?" Julia yelled out as she made her way down the hallway.

Her phone buzzed again and she checked it.

_Again, this was a job of discretion. No statement would be needed._

Julia rolled her eyes and typed up a counter argument.

_Well, you don't know that for sure. Who knows if the body will pop up somewhere._

Julia put the phone back in her pocket and hobbled into the living room where her parents were. They were staring at the tv in shock. She raised a brow and looked at the tv to see a man in a black suit hanging from a telephone pole. With his hands missing. The news anchor was talking about it.

_"...local Trenton millionaire George Delaware was shot early Wednesday morning and his funeral was supposed to take place today. Police are currently baffled by this turn of events..."_

Julia grabbed her phone and dialed Benoit.

* * *

Benoit was outside having a cigar when his phone rang. He looked at it with a smile, seeing Julia's name pop up, and he answered it.

"Hello, chickapen," he said.

_"Babe? Your missing body wouldn't happen to be a guy named George Delaware, would it?"_

Benoit looked at his phone in confusion. "How did you find that out?"

_"Because his body is on the news right now_ _."_

His jaw dropped. "You're kiddin' me."

_"Nope. I totally called it. Someone wanted to make a statement."_

"How so?"

_"His hands are missing and he's hanging from a telephone pole_ _."_

Benoit scoffed with bewilderment. "Yep, that is a statement, alright."

Officer Henson and Officer Lopez came walking over. "Detective Blanc, we've got reports of Mr. Delaware's body being found."

Benoit nodded. "I gotta go, chickapen. I'll talk to you later," he said.

_"Okay. Love you."_

"Love you, too." Benoit hung up and looked at the two cops. "Hangin' from a telephone pole with his hands missin'?"

The cops looked at each other in bewilderment before looking at him. "How'd you know?"

"My girlfriend just saw it on the news. Well, shall we go see this body now?"

* * *

Julia pocketed her phone and looked at her parents. "That's a horrible thing to do to someone," Linda commented.

"Yeah. What kind of sick freak does that?" Richard asked rhetorically.

"Someone who wanted to make a statement. This is the case Benoit's working on," Julia pointed out.

Both her parents gaped at her. "You're kidding!" they both exclaimed.

"Nope. Guy's body was replaced with a fake at the funeral home."

Both her parents gasped. "What?" Richard said in astonishment.

"Mm hmm!" Julia said with a tight lifting of her head. "Are you guys cooking dinner? I'm starving."

Julia wandered into the kitchen with Linda and Richard strolling in behind her. "What do you mean his body was replaced with a fake?" Richard asked with wide eyes.

Julia lifted the top off a pot and smelled. "Mmm, are we having spaghetti?"

"Julia!"

Julia arched a brow at her father. "What?"

"What do you mean the body was a fake?"

She looked back down at the sauce, taking the wooden spoon and stirring it. "I dunno. That's just what Benoit told me."

Richard scoffed. "Well, that's just...wow."

Julia took a taste of the sauce from the spoon and groaned. "Oh God, this is good."

Linda came over and lightly smacked Julia's hand before taking the spoon. "You just wait, young lady. Dinner should be ready in five minutes."

Julia pouted at her mother, but she waited. Once dinner was ready, Linda served the spaghetti and garlic bread which Julia immediately chowed down on. She was starving and the food was delicious. So much so that she had seconds. And thirds.

"Wow, you must've been hungry, kiddo," Richard said.

"I was," Julia acknowledged.

"Well, I hope you saved room for some cheesecake," Linda pointed out.

The dinner table was cleared and Linda brought out some cheesecake. Julia cut up a slice and ate some before slapping her belly.

"Oh boy, _now_ I'm stuffed!" she exclaimed.

After dessert, the three people went into the living room to watch tv. As they settled in, the tv went back onto the news about George Delaware and Julia saw cops and Benoit on the scene. This made her grin and she pointed.

"There's my man!" she giggled happily.

Both Richard and Linda laughed. "He really is on the case, huh?" Linda asked.

"Uh huh. He's a good detective."

* * *

_Two days later..._

It was Christmas Eve and Julia was all dressed up in her dark green dress, some makeup and a gold necklace and earrings. She couldn't wait until Benoit got there. She missed him very much. Julia exited her room on her crutches and went to meet everyone in the living room. The party was just about in full swing with some twinkling tree lights and some old school Christmas music playing. Only Walt, Donna, Jacob and Benoit were missing. Julia nestled herself onto the couch after grabbing some egg nog and she took a good drink of it.

God, she loved egg nog.

"Julia, are you going to want some pumpkin pie?" Linda asked as she approached her daughter.

"Sure, but I can get it myself," Julia replied.

"No, I can get it for you."

"You sure?" Julia inquired with a quizzical brow.

"Yes."

"Okay."

Linda walked towards the kitchen as Meg came and plopped down next to Julia on the couch.

"So, how are you feeling these days, Julia?" Meg asked her.

Julia made a thoughtful expression and bobbed her head up and down. "I'm doing better. How are you?"

"I'm good. Marta helped me stay in school so I don't have to worry about dropping out."

"That's great! I knew she'd help you out with that."

"Yeah." Meg smiled at Julia as Julia took another drink of eggnog. "Isn't the detective coming?"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure he got held up by the winter blizzard we got going on," Julia said, sighing a big huff of air. "Or the case he's been working on. Who knows?"

"Well I hope he makes it."

Linda came over with a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on it and Julia's eyes lit up. She happily took the plate, thanked her mother and started gobbling up the food. Meg laughed and Julia eyeballed her.

"What?" Julia asked curiously with a mouth full of pie.

"Just the way you eat. I think it's funny," Meg replied.

Julia rolled her eyes with a giggle. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up, college girl." Julia's phone rang. She saw it was Benoit and she answered it, her mouth still containing food. "Hey babe," she mumbled.

Julia heard a chuckle on his end. _"You're eating something, aren't you..."_

Julia swallowed and licked her lips. "Yes."

Benoit laughed loudly. _"What are you eating?"_

"Pumpkin pie."

_"Oh, I love pumpkin pie."_

Julia pouted. "Why aren't you here yet?"

_"This damn storm. I should be there soon, though. I hope. I just stopped for some gas."_

Julia smiled. "Well don't drive too fast. I don't want you to get into an accident."

_"Oh I'll be alright, I promise. I'll see you soon, chickapen. I love you."_

"I love you too, donut. See you soon."

The line hung up and Julia set the phone down. An arched brow and a smirk was on Meg's face. "Did you just call him donut?"

A giggle came out of Julia. "Yeah, it's a long story."

"Well tell me."

Julia sighed, taking another bite of pie. "Okay, well, when Marta was driving to the police station with Benoit and I in the car, the day he solved Granddad's case? He was rambling on about how the case was like a donut because of the hole in the middle. A piece was missing, a donut hole. Anyway, fast forward a bit and we were having a conversation and he said I could very well be his donut hole. The thing he's been missing in his life, I think is what he meant. So now I call him my donut."

Meg awed. "That is so sweet."

Julia lifted a shoulder and grinned. "I know."

The doorbell rang and Julia looked over at the door. "I bet that's Walt and them."

Julia watched her father walk to the entry way and she leaned back on the couch, eating some more pie. "So, do you think Mr. Blanc is _the one?"_ Meg asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Julia nudged her playfully. "Shut up."

"I'm being serious," Meg laughed.

"I dunno, maybe," Julia said, shrugging her shoulders. "He's certainly looking more like it than Charles ever did."

Meg scoffed. "Charles was such a prick."

"He's still a prick. You know he showed up at my house last month while Benoit and I were working on Wrex?"

Meg's jaw dropped. "No!"

"Uh huh. With a bouquet of daisies, no less. Tried to get me to go back to him."

"Well, what did you do?"

Julia chuckled. "Benoit kicked his ass out of the garage."

Meg cackled happily. "Well, serves him right!"

Julia chuckled and finished off the rest of her pie just as Donna came over with a martini in hand. "Hello, girls."

"Hi, Donna," both Julia and Meg said.

Donna took a drink of her martini. "You girls having fun?"

"Yeah, I guess," Meg said with a voice full of boredom.

Donna and Meg got to talking while Julia handed her plate to a caterer and she finished off her egg nog. She then got up and grabbed her crutches before walking to the front door and grabbing her jacket. She put it on, along with one shoe, and opened the front door, walking out onto the front step. It was getting dark and the snow was coming down in huge clumps, the wind occasionally picking up. Julia zipped up her black winter coat and shivered a bit.

After about five minutes, Walt came outside to have a cigar. "Hey there," he said with a smile.

"Hi Walt," Julia said, watching her breath exit her mouth. "What's up?"

"Oh, just having a cigar," he replied. "What are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for Benoit. He should be here soon."

"You're gonna get cold," he said, puffing on his cigar.

"I'll be okay. If I get too cold, I'll go back inside."

Walt nodded and smoked his cigar some more. "So, how have you been? Since the accident, I mean."

"I'm a lot better, thank you for asking."

Walt fidgeted a bit. "So you and Benoit, how are things?"

"Good. How are you and Donna?"

"Good."

The two stood in silence for a few minutes before she saw Benoit's car pull up. Julia almost squealed in delight and started hobbling over with her crutches. He got out of the car, the back trunk opening up as he got to her. She almost jumped into his arms, kissing him deeply. Benoit returned it in kind while hooking his arms around her.

"Miss me?" he asked.

"You know I did," she replied with a smile.

Benoit chuckled. "I missed you too."

He planted another kiss on Julia before letting her go. "You got all the presents?" she asked.

"Yep. They are in the trunk."

"Do you need help?"

Benoit shook his head as he grabbed a box full of presents. "No, I got it."

Benoit shut the trunk and locked his car before the couple started walking. "So how did the case go?"

"Fine. As it turns out, Mr. Delaware stole something from the mob, hence why his hands were chopped off."

Julia shuddered. "Ah, the old "steal something, get your hand cut off" thing. Interesting. But what about the fake body?"

"Oh. He was shot by the mob, then they planned to switch the body at the nursing home so they could recover said stolen item, which was sewn into his skin. But it wasn't even there. The mortician found it and kept it for himself."

Julia raised a brow as they reached the house. "That's...wow."

"I know," Benoit said with a chuckle.

"Well what was stolen?" Julia asked as she opened the door.

"A coin with a bank account number lasered into it. Apparently that bank account has millions of dollars in it."

Julia huffed and shook her head. "Well, shit."

Benoit chuckled again as Julia shut the door. "Exactly."

Richard came around from the kitchen and smiled. "Ah, Benoit. You're here, and I see you brought presents."

"I did. They're from Julia and I," Benoit explained.

"Here, let me get that for you," Richard said, grabbing the box.

"Thank you kindly," Benoit said with a smile before taking off his coat and hanging it up.

He helped Julia out of hers as Richard walked to the living room to put the presents under the tree. Linda peeked out from the kitchen and grinned.

"Hello Benoit, good to see you," she said.

"Good to see you too, Linda," Benoit responded as he slipped off his shoes. Julia tried to get her shoe off but almost fell over in the process. "Here, chickapen," Benoit said, kneeling down and helping her out of the shoe.

"Thank you, Benoit," Julia said with an embarassed grin.

"You're welcome," he replied as he stood back up.

Linda smiled brightly at them both. "The way you dote on her is cute," she observed.

"Mooom..." Julia groaned.

"What? It's true."

Julia rolled her eyes and looked at Benoit. "Have you eaten yet? We're gonna have dinner soon."

"I am famished," Benoit replied.

Julia led Benoit into the living room where everyone else had gathered and they both sat on the loveseat together. Everyone started conversing amongst themselves.

Soon dinner was served and everyone went to the large dining room table to sit and eat. There was ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, a green jello mold and a few other things. Julia did her best not to eat like a pig. Benoit would occasionally look at her with a smirk as if he expected her to do so, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing what he thought was an adorable trait.

"So Benoit, how did that case go? Did you solve it?" Richard asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Benoit answered.

"Well, what happened?"

Benoit wiped his mouth with a napkin and cleared his throat. "I'm afraid it wouldn't do well as dinner conversation if I spoke about the case, Richard."

"Oh."

"What case?" Joni asked.

"I had to go to New Jersey to investigate the disappearance of a man," Benoit explained.

"I see." After a few moments, Joni spoke up again. "Did the police ever catch the woman that ran you off the road, Julia?" Joni asked.

"No, she's still at large, unfortunately," Julia replied, sighing a deep sigh.

The rest of the dinner went by smoothly and soon everyone was served pumpkin and apple pie. Julia chose pumpkin as it was her favorite. Once everyone had gobbled up their dessert, it was time for opening up presents. It was family tradition for each person to pick out one present to open. When it got to Julia's turn, she opted for a present from her parents.

Julia ripped open the paper to see a box. When she opened it, she gasped. It was a picture frame, and the picture inside was of herself as an 18-year-old with Commander. Immediately, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh, you guys," she sniffled. "Thank you."

Suddenly the door bell rang and Richard got up. "Huh, wonder who that could be?" he asked, walking towards the door.

Julia wiped her eyes and chuckled as Benoit rubbed her back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just a very wonderful gift. I-"

"What in the hell?!" Richard yelled.

Everyone looked in the direction of the front door and a scuffle occurred between Richard and another man. Julia instantly recognized him as Mr. Heller. And there was a red headed woman behind him. It was Emily.

And they both had guns.

Mr. Heller aimed his gun at Richard as people screamed. "Move," he snarled at Julia's dad.

Richard, with his hands up, moved back into the living room. Emily came in with a handgun as well, aiming it around the room. Benoit immediately stood up with a glare on his face.

"What the hell are you doin', Emily?!" he barked.

Emily aimed the gun at Julia. "I'm here to kidnap your girlfriend, of course."


	32. The Bridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

Benoit narrowed his eyes at his ex-girlfriend. There was no way he was going to allow Emily and Mr. Heller to take Julia away from him. However, Mr. Heller still had a gun pointed at Richard so Benoit had an idea as to how this was going to play out. Still, that wasn't going to deter him from protecting his girlfriend. Benoit studied Emily for a few moments before grabbing Julia's shoulder and looking down at her. The poor woman was trembling with tears threatening to spill from her blue eyes.

Benoit hated seeing her like that.

The detective looked back at Emily. "Emily, you are not taking her."

Emily chuckled evily. "Oh I think we are, Benoit. Isn't that right, Mr. Heller?"

Mr. Heller nodded. "If she doesn't come with us, I'll shoot Richard first before we shoot the rest of you."

"No!" Linda shouted as she stood up.

Benoit noticed Jacob out of the corner of his eye. The boy was hiding behind the wall of the kitchen using his phone, hopefully to get a hold of the police. Benoit looked back at the two people and furrowed his brow.

"Emily, take me instead. Leave everyone else alone," Benoit offered.

Mr. Heller shook his head. "Nope. We want Julia, and we're going to have her unless she wants her family to die."

Benoit needed to stall them somehow. "Emily, think about what you're doin' here. This isn't right and you know it."

Emily snarled at him. "Bullshit! You're supposed to be mine, Benoit! All mine! And I'm going to make you see that!"

Benoit moved to stand in front of Julia. "Emily, let us talk about this. You both need to hold your horses, alright? This does not need to happen."

"Yes it does!" Mr. Heller shouted angrily. "This bitch needs to pay for what she did to my little girl!"

"John," Richard began. "This isn't you and you know it. Put the gun down."

"Get out of the way, Benoit," Emily warned.

Benoit felt Julia stand up behind him. "Benoit, I need to go with them. They'll shoot my family if I don't."

"No they won't. They're bluffin'," Benoit explained calmly.

John Heller pressed the gun to Richard's forehead and everyone screamed or gasped, begging John not to pull the trigger. "Do I look like I'm bluffing?!" Mr. Heller bellowed as he glared at Benoit.

Benoit eyed Jacob again who was still on the phone. Julia moved to the side and cleared her throat. "Emily, John, I'll come with as long as you promise to spare my family."

 _"Dammit, we need more time!"_ Benoit thought desperately.

"Julia, you are not goin' with them. They are not killers, are you Mr. Heller?"

Mr. Heller kept his eyes narrowed and looked at Richard. "How would you know?"

Emily aimed her gun at Richard and Julia wobbled forward. "Okay! Okay!" she shouted desperately. "I'm coming, I'm coming..."

Benoit grabbed her arm. "Julia, please don't."

Julia looked at him with fear in her eyes. "I have to. They'll kill my dad and the rest of my family otherwise."

Benoit kept his grip on her, fearing for her life. "Julia-"

"My mind is made up, Benoit. Please," she begged. "Don't let them hurt my family."

Benoit was torn, absolutely torn. He had no idea what to do. He looked around at the members of the Thrombey family, eyeing Jacob once more very briefly. It looked like he was still on the phone.

"Benoit," Julia said, grabbing his attention again. "You've gotta let me go."

Benoit's grip on her faltered. "Chickapen..."

Julia grabbed her crutches and kissed Benoit's cheek. "There's a gun in my suitcase," she whispered. "I love you," Julia said with a higher volume.

"I love you, too," he said mournfully.

Julia gave her family one last look with a frown, then she passed Mr. Heller and Emily to the front door. The two kidnappers walked backwards as Julia grabbed her coat and put it on, then she slipped her shoe on. They still had their guns aimed at the family. Julia opened the door to the blistering snowstorm that was outside, and the three people left.

Benoit immediately ran to the guest bedroom that Julia was staying in and went through her suitcase, tossing clothes here and there until he found her Glock. He checked that it was loaded, got up and ran back out in time to hear sirens approaching.

"Where are you going?" Richard asked, Linda clinging to him as she sobbed.

"To get her back," Benoit growled while putting on his coat and shoes.

* * *

Just as Julia made it to the car with the others, she heard police sirens ringing in the night.

"Shit!" Emily snapped. "Alright, get in the truck!"

Mr. Heller opened the back door and shoved Julia in. She cried out a little when her knee slammed into something, then she hurried into her seat. When she tried to grab her crutches, however, Emily threw them into the snow.

"You won't be needing those!" she shouted before slamming the door shut.

The two kidnappers got into the vehicle, then Emily turned on the truck and pulled away quickly just as the police were arriving behind them. The snow was falling harder now and making visibility almost impossible to see through, but Julia could make out Benoit's form hopping into his own vehicle as she looked out the back window. Also, from what she could tell, there were at least four police cruisers chasing after them.

"Go faster!" John snapped.

Julia heard the truck accelerate and she put on her seatbelt urgently. With the way Emily was driving, they were bound to get into an accident. Especially in this weather. Julia was not looking forward to another car crash.

She looked behind her once more. At least her rescuers were able to keep up. As she turned back around, she gasped when she saw Mr. Heller aiming a gun at her and her eyes went wide.

"I've been waiting for this for a very long time, Julia. You know you had this coming," he said with a sinister smile.

Julia gulped. "What are you going to do to me?"

Emily cackled loudly. "First, we're gonna hurt you. Slowly. Then we're gonna kill you."

Julia never felt more terrified in her entire life, even when Mrs. Heller pulled a gun on her in the bathroom at Shooter's. She bit her lower lip and did her best to remain calm, though. It wouldn't help if she became hysterical.

The truck drove through the suburbs of Boston quickly, occasionally slowing down to make turns. Even still, Julia knew the handling on the truck sucked ass. This knowledge provided small comfort as she contemplated everything that had led up to this point.

"So how exactly do you plan on escaping the police?" Julia asked.

"They'll either give up or won't be able to keep up," Emily said, pressing her foot more on the accelerator.

Julia's mouth dropped. "You're fucking insane. Both of you are."

Julia recognized the area they were in. They were soon going to be heading across the bridge that stood over the Neponset River. That bridge was notorious for having black ice and she hoped to god they didn't hit a patch.

Julia needed a plan to get out of this, she just needed the opportunity to get the gun away from John. All he had to do was look away, even for a moment, so she could grab the gun.

And then he did.

* * *

Benoit was still chasing the truck down along with four police cruisers. The snow was getting thicker by the minute and he was having a hard time keeping the truck in his sights but he wasn't about to give up.

Suddenly the truck started swerving just as they were crossing a bridge and it crashed into the railing of the bridge. The metal cracked open and Benoit slammed on his brakes, occasionally pumping them so he could slow down properly. The truck was starting to lean over the side and his heart jumped in his throat as he got out.

The police cruisers swerved to a halt as he went running towards the truck. The truck was seesawing over the side with a few creaks here and there as he approached the vehicle.

"Shit! Julia!" he called out while he got to the side of the black truck.

* * *

Julia was frantically trying to open her door but it wouldn't budge. The crash had knocked out both her kidnappers, thank God, but she still couldn't get out. She saw Benoit's face and sighed in relief. He looked like he was panicking like all hell.

"Try the other door," he said, though his voice was muffled.

Julia went up the other door but she couldn't get that open either. Suddenly she had an idea and she looked around for the gun that she'd managed to knock out of John's hand before the crash. Julia found it on the floor by her feet and she aimed it at the back window before firing off a couple shots. The window splintered into hundreds of pieces.

As Julis went to climb out the back window, she yelped when she felt a hand snake around her ankle and she looked down to see Emily grasping her leg.

"If I'm going down, you're coming with me, you bitch!" Emily yelled.

"Julia!" Benoit barked as he appeared near the bed of the truck, holding out his hand. "Take my hand!"

Julia tried to reach for his hand, trying to kick Emily off but Emily still had a hold on her leg. Their fingers barely touched when Emily yanked Julia down, causing the truck to teeter forward. Benoit's face contorted in horror as the truck moved down. Julia took one last look at Benoit, her eyes wide with fear as the truck went over the side. As the vehicle began its fall, Julia looked down and grasped onto John's seat as they hit the ice. The sound of the truck crashing into something solid echoed in Julia's ears and Emily's grip loosened.

Julia managed to pull herself up out of the window as the truck began to sink, water pouring in and filling up the area. It was fucking _cold._ She then hobbled to stand on the truck and jumped. The cold water hit Julia like a ton of bricks and she was shocked that her heart didn't stop right then and there.

Julia surfaced with a loud breath and began swimming to the river bank. She could still hear sirens on the bridge and she looked up but couldn't find Benoit anywhere.

Suddenly her body was yanked under and Julia knew immediately that it was Emily. She was trying to drown her. Emily grabbed her by the hair and held Julia down underwater. Julia struggled, trying her best to hold her breath in. She grasped Emily's hands in an effort to get them untangled from her hair but it wasn't working.

That was when Julia decided to bite the bitch on her stomach.

Julia heard the woman screech but all that Julia got out of it was a hand to her throat. Julia was running out of time to breathe.

She pulled Emily under and used her feet to push on Emily. Julia resurfaced and took a deep breath before being pulled under again. Emily yanked on her hair again and kept her underwater. Julia kept fighting the woman, struggling hard to get to the surface and breathe.

Again, Julia was running out of time. She felt her lungs start to burn from holding in air for so long and Julia couldn't hold it in anymore so she let the breath out. Bubbles floated to the top of the water.

 _"Shit, I'm going to die!"_ she thought.

Just when her vision started to blacken around the edges, Emily's grip on her hair loosened and the woman took a step back. Julia pushed off the bottom with all her might and got her head above water, taking in a huge breath before coughing. She turned to see Emily's wide eyes and blood coming from her chest. Julia looked over her shoulder and saw Benoit with a gun aimed. Julia then looked at the shocked Emily and punched her in the face. Emily fell backwards into the water and Julia took a few deep breaths.

It was finally fucking over.

"Julia, get out of the water," Benoit urged.

Julia turned and limped out of the water towards Benoit. Now Julia was shivering due to the adrenaline leaving her body as well as from the cold. Benoit instantly took her wet jacket off, then he took off his overcoat and wrapped Julia up in it before hugging her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"J-Just p-p-peachy," Julia stuttered.

Benoit lifted Julia up in his arms bridal style and started walking up the hill. "Let's go get you warmed up, chickapen."

* * *

After a ride to the hospital, a changing of Julia's now wet casts, and a clean bill of health, Julia was allowed to return home. To her actual home, this time. As Julia walked through the front door, she took a deep breath in through her nose.

It felt good to be home.

Benoit came in behind Julia, holding her suitcase. "Well, how does it feel to be home?" he asked her.

Julia turned around, leaned her crutches on the kitchen counter and wrapped Benoit up in a hug. After the events of that night, she just wanted him to hold her. And that's exactly what he did. He kissed her temple and stroked her hair while she began to sob into his shoulder.

"You're alright, chickapen. It's all over," Benoit said in a soothing voice.

Julia continued to cry. She almost died tonight and Benoit had saved her. "Will you spend the night with me?" she whimpered.

"You know I will," he replied. "But let's get you into some pajamas, okay?"

Julia nodded, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes. Benoit helped her upstairs and they both went to the bedroom. After helping her into some pajamas, he stripped down to his underwear and they climbed into bed after he shut off the light. Benoit pulled Julia to him, spooning her from behind and kissing the back of her neck.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked.

"Yeah, very comfortable," she replied.

"How are you feeling?"

Julia sighed deeply. "Drained. Tired."

"Do you want to skip the parties tomorrow?"

She shook her head. "I already missed Thanksgiving, I'm not gonna miss Christmas Day."

Benoit chuckled and snuggled his face into the crook of her neck, brushing his nose behind her ear. "That's my girl."

"Mmhmm." Suddenly Julia turned around to face her boyfriend. "Were you afraid tonight?"

"I was afraid. I thought you were goin' to die when the truck fell off the bridge, and I thought Emily was goin' to kill you."

"But you saved my life, Benoit," she said, cupping his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, kissing her softly. "Were you afraid?"

"I was terrified," Julia said with a laugh. "Absolutely terrified."

"You did well, though."

"I did?" Julia said, raising a brow.

"Yes. You saved your family. I'm proud of you."

Julia giggled. "You weren't at the time."

"Actually I was, but I was moreso fearin' for your safety, chickapen."

"I'm sorry I put you through that," she said with a frown.

"Well," Benoit began, pushing a lock of hair from her face. "Doesn't matter now. It's all over. You're no longer in peril."

Benoit was right. She was safe now. She no longer had to fear for her life. All her attackers were either dead or still in jail. Well, Kelly was due to get out soon, but Julia was pretty sure Kelly would leave her alone. Unless Kelly would try to blame Julia for the death of her father. As for Peter, would he blame her for Emily's death and come after her once he got out of jail?

"What about Kelly and Peter, though? Do you think I'll have to worry about them when they get out of jail? And Mrs. Heller as well?"

Benoit shook his head. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For right now, though? You are safe and sound."

Julia grinned and snuggled against Benoit's chest. "As long as I'm with you, I am safe."

"Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around," Benoit sang softly.

Julia laughed. "That's from Sweeney Todd."

"I know. I have a penchant for musicals."

She gasped and looked at him. "Detective, you surprise me."

Benoit laughed loudly and nodded. "I gotta keep you on your toes somehow."

Julia let out a yawn and rested her head on Benoit's chest, draping her arm around his midsection. "I love you."

"I love you too," he answered, kissing the top of her head. "And I always will."

* * *

_3 weeks later..._

"I'm a little nervous," Julia said as she sat in the doctor's office.

"About what? Getting your cats off?" Benoit asked, sitting next to her.

"Yes."

Benoit chuckled and put an arm around her shoulders. "It will be fine," he assured her.

A nurse came out of the back room with a clipboard. "Julia Drysdale?" she called out.

Julia slowly stood up with Benoit. "That's me."

"The doctor is ready for you."

Julia took her crutches and Benoit followed her to the door. The three people walked down the hall to a room where another woman in a lab coat was sitting. She smiled at the couple.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Welsh. I'll be the one to remove your casts today," she said.

Julia nodded and sat down in a chair, Benoit joining her in the seat beside her. "Will it hurt?" Julia asked.

The doctor grabbed a type of electric saw that was connected to a machine via a hose and shook her head. "No, although you might have some discomfort after the cast comes off. That's perfectly normal as the joints and and muscles haven't been used in a while. But first, let's have a look at your ribs, shall we?"

Julia nodded and the doctor scooted closer, then Julia lifted up her sweater and shirt to expose her ribs. The doctor put on some latex gloves and pressed gently on Julia's side.

"Does it hurt when I do this? Any tenderness?" Dr. Welsh asked.

"Nope," Julia replied.

"Good. Seems like your ribs are all healed." Julia looked at Benoit knowingly, realizing that she was now well enough to finally have sex with her man. The doctor handled the electric saw. "Now, we're gonna use this to cut off your casts. It won't cut your skin or anything like that, I promise. Let's start with your arm first."

Julia held out her arm and the electric saw was turned on. The doctor began cutting along one side of the cast, a high pitched whirring sound occurring whenever the edges cut into the cast. The doctor then cut the other side of the cast, turned the saw off and grabbed medical scissors. She began cutting the gauze that underlined the cast and then, once that was done, the doctor removed the cast. Julia looked at her arm, confused at all the dark hair on it as well as the amount of flaky skin on her arm and wrist.

"Is this normal?" Julia inquired. "All the flaky skin and dark hair?"

"Oh yes, that's quite normal, although I expected to see more dry skin."

Julia chuckled. "Well, that might be because I took a dip in the river three weeks ago and had to have my casts replaced."

The doctor eyed Julia. "Oh right, yeah. That was in your file."

The doctor repeated the procedure with Julia's ankle cast and once that was removed, Julia gasped at her leg. It was smaller.

"What the hell?" she said. "Why is my leg smaller?"

"Oh, that's just from lack of use of the muscles. That'll fix itself over time," Dr. Welsh explained.

"Oh."

"Okay, so, any stiffness or discomfort in your wrist or ankle?"

Julia moved her wrist and ankle about, rolling them carefully. They felt a little tight and sore. "Hmm, a little bit," Julia replied.

"Well, that should go away on its own in time. If it doesn't or gets worse, make an appointment to come back and we'll check it out."

Julia nodded and thanked the doctor, then the couple left the doctor's office. She was amazed at how much she missed walking on her own two feet. She did a little skip and a twirl as they made their way to the car and Benoit laughed at her.

"What are you doin'?" he asked.

"Celebrating, I suppose," Julia replied. "I can finally walk."

Benoit smiled and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Yes. You have made a full recovery. And do you know what that means?"

Julia grinned. "What?" she asked, flinging her arms around the nape of his neck.

"It means we can finally," he started kissing her neck, " _finally_ engage in some real...pleasurable activities."

"Oh yeah," Julia giggled, leaning her head back. "We should get back home immediately."

Benoit gave her a deep and sensual kiss that made Julia want to faint. After a few moments, they hurried to the car, got in and drove off in the direction of Julia's house.

Benoit had just moved in a week ago so now it was _their_ house. The move had been brief as Benoit didn't have too much stuff to add to Julia's home but Julia made sure that all his furniture was put into the room she designated as his "man cave". He'd really liked that.

Benoit quickly pulled into the driveway and they both got out then practically ran to the door together, their feet making footprints in the snow. Julia made a mental note to take her snowblower to the driveway. As soon as Julia unlocked the door, Benoit grabbed her and kissed her passionately. She chuckled into his mouth before fiddling with the door knob. Finally, she got it open.

They got in, keeping their lips together and moaning as Benoit slammed the door shut. One by one, their clothes started coming off while they made their way up the stairs to the bedroom. By the time they got there, Julia and Benoit were just in their underwear. His eyes were dark as he stared at her before licking his lips.

"You beautiful woman," Benoit cooed, lifting her up in his arms.

"You beautiful man," Julia giggled while holding onto him.

He placed his lips on hers, softly at first, before she began to deepen it. Their mouths fought each other for dominance as Benoit placed her rump on the bed, reaching behind her to unclasp her bra. It fell to the floor and his lips trailed down Julia's neck to her collarbone. A hand slipped into her panties and she gasped when his finger slid across her opening. Julia reached into his underwear and began stroking him, his member growing in the palm of her hand.

Benoit traced his finger up and down from the tip of her nub to the hole of her womanhood. His mouth found Julia's nipple and he flicked his tongue on the peaked, pink flesh before suckling on it. Julia groaned out and lifted her head back, craning her neck almost to the point where it hurt.

"Fuck, Benoit..." she whined.

He wiggled his tongue for a little bit more before moving his lips to her neglected breast. Then, all of a sudden, he stood up and took off his underwear.

"Take off your panties," he demanded.

While doing as she was told, Benoit opened the night stand drawer and took out a condom. He opened it and slid the rubber onto his penis, then tossed the wrapper to the side. Julia laid down in front of him, her legs spread open so she could put herself on display.

"Do you want to fuck me, Detective?" she asked in a sultry tone.

Benoit guffawed and climbed on top of her. "Of course."

Just as he was about to slide into her, Julia stopped him and tsked. "Tell me you want to fuck me, Detective."

Benoit stared down at her with dark eyes before leaning down and putting his mouth to her ear lobe. "I want to fuck you, Miss Drysdale. Do I have permission to fuck you?"

Hearing him say the words made her even wetter than before. "Yes," she moaned.

Benoit positioned himself at her entrance, barely pushing the tip in. He hovered for a moment before looking into her eyes.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

As the gazed into each other's eyes, Benoit fully sheathed himself inside of her and they both groaned out loudly.

 _"Finally!"_ Julia thought in her head.

Benoit pulled out a little then he thrust himself back in. He began repeating the action over and over, pulling Julia's body into his arms and kissing her. Julia pressed her hands on his back and moaned into his mouth. Her palms trailed down his back to his ass and she squeezed softly which encouraged Benoit to go faster and deeper inside her.

Julia was in extreme ecstacy and she could only imagine how Benoit felt, although she could take a wild guess. They continued kissing and soon Benoit was hitting deep and hard enough for the bed frame to start hitting the wall. Skin slapped against skin and Julia came up for air, breathing heavily as Benoit went even faster.

Julia felt her orgasm build slowly and she begged the detective to slam into her faster. He obliged her and she began gasping as if she couldn't breathe.

"Oh shit...shit, Benoit, I'm gonna cum..." she whined

Benoit started pumping into her so hard and fast, Julia was sure the bed frame was going to make the wall crack. Nails dragged across his skin and he hissed into her mouth. Soon her womanhood exploded with pleasure and she cried out loudly, gasping for air as her muscles clenched and relaxed around his cock.

"Chickapen, I'm gonna...ugh..."

Benoit grunted loudly and bowed his head down to Julia's forehead, shutting his eyes and thrusting once into her deeply. He was breathing heavily, as was she, and sweat was on their skin.

"Oh, donut," Julia breathed. "That was so amazing."

After a few moments, Benoit nodded his head vigorously and rolled off of her with a big grin on his face. "Yes it was."

"Was I worth the wait?" Julia asked with a giggle.

Benoit looked at her and smiled. "Most definitely. And," he scooted closer to her, wrapping her up in his arms as she snuggled against him. "I look forward to more sexual escapades with you. Especially in the next few minutes."

Julia's eyebrows raised at him. "In the next few minutes?"

Benoit chuckled deviously. "I told you. I have an overabundance of condoms for a reason."

 _"Oh good God,"_ she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I haven't been able to decide if this should be the last chapter or not. Guys, let me know if this was a good enough ending or if you want me to add more to the story.


	33. Plans for a sequel

Hey guys. So I've decided that there will be a sequel to this book. I just don't know when I'll start it. I still have ideas that I need to figure out.

Anyway, thanks so much for your kudos and comments and for reading the story! Laters!


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